Stop the inhumane dog meat trade in China!

The world’s biggest dog meat festival recently wrapped up in the city of Yulin, in southern China. Over 10, 000 dogs were rounded up from the streets or stolen from their owners and shipped in terrible conditions to Yulin, where they met their doom. The video attached to this petition might give viewers a sense of the suffering these helpless dogs had to endure before eventually being cooked for their meat. Forced to endure long-haul journeys crammed in tiny cages, with barely room to breathe and no food and water, upon their arrival at the festival, they were boiled or barbecued alive, all in the name of tradition. Despite numerous protests, the local government has refused to intervene (claiming that the ‘festival’ did not actually exist, so there was nothing to be banned in the first place).

Now that the festival is over, please do not think for a moment the suffering of these innocent dogs has come to a halt. Dog meat traders have already gone back to work, hoping to pick-up where business was left when Yulin started.

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Traders are putting in extra long hours to meet demand. They are patrolling the streets and callously snatching as many strays as they can (and claim they are actually doing society a favour, by keeping the streets clean) or barge into people’s homes and take away their beloved pets. Depending on the scale of the traders’ business, they use motorbikes or large vans, to accommodate a greater number of dogs. The helpless animals try to put up a fight, but have no chance of escaping. Once traders get their hands on them, there is little chance they will make it out alive. Traders later sell the dogs to private cooks or restaurants.

Dog meat can easily be found basically all over China. It’s not just in major cities that dog meat is sold, but in the more rural parts of the country as well. In open markets, dogs are kept in cages, in extreme conditions, waiting for customers to arrive and hand-pick them to be cooked.

There are hundreds of reasons to outlaw dog meat trade. I will only name a couple in this letter to Chinese officials. First of all, dogs are not food, they are true family members, cherished companions and man’s best friend. More and more Chinese citizens have acknowledged the benefits of owning a dog, as pet ownership has risen dramatically over the past years. This trend must continue by all means. Secondly, the consumption of dog meat poses significant health risks for the general population. Dog meat has been associated with severe diseases such as rabies and possible infections include parasites such as E.coli and salmonella; bacterial infections such as anthrax and hepatitis are also a major threat for the general population. Dog meat is processed in highly unhygienic conditions (usually in public places) and therefore this vile industry is threatening the health of millions of people each year. Putting traders’ profits ahead of food safety is simply outrageous and unaccpetable.

Please take action and pursue authorities to outlaw dog meat once and for all. Help end all this senseless suffering by signing and sharing this petition today. The dogs of China need a voice and we must do everything in our power to ensure they get the opportunity to live a normal life!