Campaigners renew calls to ban Yulin dog meat festival

Animal rights activists are calling for the end to an annual dog meat festival in South China blamed for tarnishing the country’s reputation internationally.

动物权利活动人士呼吁结束中国南方一年一度的狗肉节，称其损害国家的国际声誉。

The Litchi and Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, is usually held in June, but has met increased opposition in recent years amid concerns over canine cruelty and unhygienic food handling practices.

荔枝狗肉节和广西玉林狗肉节，通常在六月举行，但因其对犬类残忍和不卫生的食品处理措施而在近年来越来越遭到反对。

Activists say that they will continue to press for the festival to be banned and for legislation outlawing the slaughtering of dogs and cats for meat in China to be outlawed.

活动人士说，他们将继续为禁止节日施压，促成立法，禁止在中国非法屠宰猫狗肉。

"The Yulin authorities need to adopt more proactive and decisive steps to crack down on an industry that kills dogs acquired illegally and sells their meat in breach of the state’s food safety regulations," said Qin Xiaona, founder and director of Capital Animal Welfare Association.

“玉林当局需要采取更积极和果断的措施来打击这个非法收购和屠宰狗只，并违反国家食品安全法规行业，” 资本动物福利协会创始人和理事长秦晓娜说。

According to Humane Society International, around 10-20 million dogs are killed every year across China for human consumption, predominantly in the south and northeast.

据国际人道协会的数据，中国每年约有1－2千万只狗用于人类消费被屠宰，主要在中国南部和东北部。

Qin claims that more than 80 percent of these are stolen pets, according to her association’s research.

据其协会的研究，秦晓娜声称这些宠物中有超过80%是被偷走的宠物。

Peter Li, China policy specialist of Humane Society International, said the Yulin festival has reduced in size in recent years as the authorities in Yulin are under pressure from both domestic and international protest.

国际人道协会的中国政策专家李坚强说，随着玉林当局在国内和国际的抗议活动的压力下，玉林狗肉节的规模已经缩小了。

"The peak of dog slaughter was in 2012 or 2013 when more than 10,000 dogs were killed in three days. The number dropped to 2,000 in 2015," said Li.

“2012或2013年是犬只屠杀的高峰，每三天就有超过1万只狗被杀死。2015年该数字下降到2000，”李坚强说。

In 2014, the Yulin authorities realized that endorsing the festival was a bad idea and in May 2014, they issued an internal warning to all government employees and families not to attend the dog meat restaurants.

2014年，玉林当局意识到支持狗肉节是一个坏主意，并在2014年的五月发内部通知，警告所有政府雇员和其家庭不要去狗肉餐馆。

"The Yulin authorities distanced themselves from the festival, saying it was a totally private business event, and shut down one live dog market and two dog slaughter operations in the city," according to Li. "This led to a drastic reduction in the number of dogs slaughtered in 2014," he added.

“玉林当局自行与该节日拉开距离，说这完全是私人商业活动，并关闭了城中一个活狗市场和两个狗屠宰业务点，”据李坚强介绍，“这导致了在2014年狗被屠宰的数量急剧减少。”

Yu Hongmei, director of the VShine Animal Protection Association, said China needs to follow the example of other developed nations that have banned human consumption of dog and cat meat.

大连市微善爱护动物协会主任于红梅说，中国需要以其他发达国家为榜样，禁止猫狗肉消费。

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来源:China Daily爱语吧作者:Sylvia