Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Editor's Note:

The Yulin dog festival, held every year on the summer solstice, draws annual protests from animal rights activists. Sometimes the clashes between dog lovers and local governments turn violent, while the event draws regular negative coverage both from inside China and overseas. Is the festival justified? Do protesters go too far?

Debate over dog meat festival should stay in civilized bounds

Every year when China's annual Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region kick starts on June 22, a fierce debate among consumers, sellers and animal lovers is ignited online, which will turn the festival into a "battle." Since the battle comes every year, and the themes and arguments stay the same, why don't we argue in a civilized manner?

As a matter of fact, controversy over eating dog meat has always been a heated topic online. However, it will be pushed to a climax during the dog-eating festival every year. It is therefore of great significance to find ways to set the rules of debate.

Contestants nowadays have actually realized that ways and means matter. Take the dog lover Yang Xiaoyun, who rescued 360 dogs and dozens of cats at a cost of $24,300 last year. She received calls from dog sellers even before the festival started this year, saying that they had prepared quite a number of dogs for her to buy.

It might sound provocative, but she has made her strategy already. Noticing that her way of rescuing dogs was ineffective, this year Yang is planning to purchase as many animals as she could by billing them by the pound, through which she could save more with less spending. Moreover, she has also believed that holding the banners against dog-eating behavior on the streets doesn't work. Hence, she is considering spreading the concept of caring and loving for dogs in dog farms and restaurants that serve dog meat. "I hope locals could accept our culture through this way," she said.

Compared with other animal lovers who besiege, attack dog eaters, or harass and threaten meat dealers, the new way used by Yang is more mild and enlightened. We hope a growing number of dog lovers can have such consciousness, instead of protesting this festival in a brutal way. Dog lovers tend to claim themselves to be "more civilized." Yet they have also conducted certain uncivilized acts out of their love for the animals. This is undoubtedly ironic.

No matter what is your stance on the problem, you might as well think before you act. Whether you are a dog lover or enjoy eating dog meat, try not going overboard.

More people should understand that the civilized manner is the most persuasive way.

The Beijing News

Carnivores have no right to single out canines as exception

As the summer solstice arrives, the dog meat festival in the southern Chinese city of Yulin has once again prompted a firestorm of controversy among people not only at home but also abroad. Over the past few years, animal lovers from all around the world have been protesting against the festival. Due to a lack of tight controls, it remains hard to figure out exactly how many dogs are slaughtered every year. It is estimated that some 10,000 canines are killed for human consumption each time.

There is nothing wrong for animal rights activists to protest, for it is their freedom to do so with understandable caution. However, it would be one-sided and extreme to call off the festival due to their protests.

Many animals are eaten every day all over the world, including chickens, ducks, pigs, cows, lambs and horses. Why can we cook the meat of these animal but not dogs?

As long as the animals aren't endangered or stolen, it is not illegal to enjoy their meat. If the dog-eating festival is to be cancelled, should the "goat-eating" or "donkey-meat" festivals all be removed?

The Yulin Dog Meat Festival is a local tradition, and a folk custom activity to celebrate the arrival of summer.

In addition, by throwing such festivals, Yulin can also promote itself to the country and the world, and upgrade the dog meat industry, in order to get its other industrial sectors moving forward.

Dog meat has long been considered a delicacy in certain parts of China. And there is currently no law that prohibits people from eating dogs. Thus, mutual respect is needed for different customs. There are ethnic groups which do not eat pork and they have their reasons as well, but they don't protect or demand others to stop eating it.

The focus of the controversy over this dog eating festival lies in the sources of the dogs. It is therefore a key point to set up guidelines on the issue. The guarantee that none of the dog meat is from pet dogs is the crucial problem for the life and death of the festival. If people's pet dogs don't get stolen anymore, and the meat provided during the festival are from defined sources, the disputes over the issue will surely cool down over time.

rednet. cn

Hygiene is worst issue at unsanitary Yulin hound-feast

By Chris Dalby

Every year brings the same rigamarole. Animal rights activists descend on the Yulin Dog Meat Festival in Guangxi, decrying this tradition as barbaric. Those with the means seek to buy as many dogs as they can. Others threaten to turn violent, either trying to smash cages or abusing the butcher. The festival's supporters reply, often angrily, that this is a tradition which simply offends Westerners who somehow view dogs as "superior" to cows, chickens, and pigs, meaning they should not be eaten. As cute as puppies are, this debate is unsolvable.

Instead of trying to "educate" people about what meat to eat, the focus should be on another, under-reported, problem at Yulin: the terrible sanitary conditions. With thousands of dogs butchered in unclean conditions, many are often infected, sick, or dying, mixed in with healthy stock. This is where properly trained activists can actually serve a real purpose with an achievable goal.

The most powerful accusations lobbed at the festival are not those tarring those who eat dogs as barbarians. They are the countless photos of dogs being boiled alive, stuffed into miniscule cages, and covered in open sores and wounds as they wait to die. Many of the dogs are grilled with a blow torch on the very cages they once lived in.

Why not use all this attention and controversy to become a beacon of cleanliness and healthy food preparation habits in China? Instead of distancing itself from the festival, the government could invest in the event. Having veterinarians on hand to put down dogs deemed unfit for human consumption, encouraging humane slaughtering techniques, and even having cultural exhibits tracking the history of eating dog meat in China would go a very long way toward assuaging critics and helping to change hearts and minds. It could even encourage other, less controversial food festivals in China to follow suit.

The author is editorial director of Mexico Business Publishing. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn