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Hope and Wellness | animal hope and wellness

animal hope and wellness

Dog Meat Sales Abide at Chinese Anniversary Despite Expected Ban

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Animal Hope and Wellness | animal hope and wellness

An abominable Chinese anniversary that slaughters bags of dogs per year has bootless to apparatus a -to-be ban on dog meat sales, outraging animal-welfare advocates.

“It seems acceptable there will not be an apparent ban on dog meat sales in the burghal of Yulin during this year’s summer solstice,” said Irene Feng, the cat and dog beastly abundance administrator for Animals Asia, in a statement. “However, we do accept that the government has had abundant and wants to end the all-around affiliation of Yulin burghal with the boyhood convenance of bistro dog meat.”

In May, the animal-welfare groups Humane Society All-embracing and Duo Duo Beastly Abundance Project aboriginal arise that government admiral in Yulin were because a ban on affairs dog meat at the city’s Lychee and Dog Meat Festival.

Founded in 2010, the anniversary became internationally abominable overnight. Advocacy groups in China and about the apple accept accursed the accident for slaughtering bags of dogs and cats, abounding of them declared beasts or baseborn pets.

According to the groups, Yulin’s ban was declared to forbid the auction of dog meat alpha June 15, a anniversary afore the festival’s June 21 opening. Violators of the ban reportedly would accept faced accident of arrest and fines up to 100,000 yuan ($14,700). (National Geographic has been clumsy to afar affirm the groups’ claims.)

However, photographs and video afresh acquired by animal-welfare advocates advance that dog meat is still readily accessible in Yulin.

One of the videos, filmed by Marc Ching of the U.S.-based accumulation Beastly Hope and Wellness Foundation, abstracts a airing through Nanqiao, one of Yulin’s dog-meat markets.

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In the livestreamed Facebook video filmed on June 16, Ching walks through the market, his camera across-the-board beyond stands awash with dozens of dog carcasses. Vibrant signage advertises “freshly asleep atramentous dogs” and “locally developed pugs.” Yet as Ching addendum in the footage, June 16 would accept been the additional day of the accounted ban.

Additional footage provided to National Geographic by the Beastly Hope and Wellness Foundation shows a scooter burdened with alive dogs deeply arranged into cages. In the footage, additionally anachronous June 16, Ching says that the scooter was on its way to Yulin.

“Why this is so abhorrent is that usually, everybody’s angry and aggravating to put burden on the government to booty action—this year, there was none of that, bodies anticipation it was over,” says Ching in the Facebook video. “Even back we went to Congress to allege to assembly about the anniversary [and] H.Res. 30, abounding of them had mentioned: ‘Why advance article through back the anniversary is over?’”

H.Res. 30, a bill alien in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-FL), would serve as an official U.S. accusation of the Yulin festival. The bill calls the anniversary “a comedy of acute beastly cruelty” and “urges the National People's Congress of China to achieve an beastly anti-cruelty law with accoutrement banning the dog meat trade.”

THE BAN THAT WASN’T

Peter Li, a China action specialist at Humane Society International, told National Geographic by email that afterwards acquirements of the ban, Humane Society All-embracing and Duo Duo Beastly Abundance Project again accustomed acceptance that the ban was affective forward. However, he now says that the ban was afresh watered down, based on bounded sources who he says talked to dog-meat traders.

According to Li, the bearings fell afar on June 13, aloof two canicule afore the ban’s appointed start, afterwards several dog-meat traders met with bristles Yulin government departments.

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Asian Dog Meat Trade: An Interview with Marc Ching of the Animal ... | animal hope and wellness

“In this meeting, the vendors threatened the government and protested the ban, arguing: ‘If we stop dog meat sales for seven days, are you agriculture us and our families?’” Li says. “The vendors accepted advantage for accident of business.”

In response, Li says that Yulin’s government fabricated a above acknowledgment to the traders. Instead of endlessly the sales of dog meat completely, the government alone appropriate that vendors not affectation dog meat at their stands for seven days. In aftereffect animadversion on June 19, Li said that vendors are now accustomed to advertise but can’t affectation added than two asleep dogs each.

“This is a sad development of the Yulin authorities accedence to the absorption of the dog meat traders,” he adds. “This change of apperception beatific a actual bad arresting to the vendors.”

Li additionally says that bounded admiral are alive to anticipate the accessible affectation of dog meat. Li provided National Geographic video that appears to appearance an added badge attendance in the Nanqiao bazaar on June 16, the aforementioned day (local time) as Marc Ching’s alive Facebook video.

While animal-welfare groups arise to accede that the ban has not materialized, not all accede with Li's exact account. Valarie Ianniello, the controlling administrator of the Beastly Hope and Wellness Foundation, disputes Li's annual of the June 13 affair and calls beforehand letters of a ban "clearly not true."

"It aloof seems to be accepting worse, not better," she says, acquainted dog meat's almost aerial price—more than $2 per pound, according to Ianniello—creates a able banking allurement for traders to continue.

While animal-welfare groups arise to accede that the ban has not materialized, not all accede with Li. Valarie Ianniello, the controlling administrator of the Beastly Hope and Wellness Foundation, disputes Humane Society International's annual of the June 13 affair and calls beforehand letters of a ban "clearly not true." (In a statement, Li dedicated his sourcing for both accounts.)

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Animal Hope and Wellness | animal hope and wellness

"It aloof seems to be accepting worse, not better," Ianniello says, in allotment because of the assiduous banking incentive. Even back unseasoned, dog meat can command a almost aerial price—more than $2 per pound, she says.

Chinese media letters cited by Radio Free Asia and Animals Asia say that Yulin’s government denies the actuality of the ban, admitting Radio Free Asia letters that bounded admiral did acquaint dog-meat traders not to about affectation their wares.

FAR FROM ALONE

Animal-welfare advocates accent that while Yulin is a abrupt archetype of the dog-meat trade’s cruelty, it is far from the alone one.

Although accessible assessment in China has angry adjoin bistro dog meat—especially amid adolescent people—an estimated 10 actor dogs and 4 actor bodies are still collapsed every year in China for beastly consumption, according to Humane Society All-embracing estimates.

“...The all-embracing absorption accustomed to Yulin for one anniversary of the year is acceptable a aberration from the abundant beyond affair of the dog meat trade’s activities every distinct day of the year beyond the country,” said Feng, the cat and dog beastly abundance administrator for Animals Asia. “That is the absolute affair and it requires a constant and holistic approach—it can’t be apparent in a week.”

Daisy Chung contributed translation.

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