The Yulin Dog Meat Festival

Hey Everyone!


So fair warning ahead of time: This is a difficult topic. I do apologies in advance, though I do think it is very important.

Many members here I'm sure are already aware of the dog/cat meat trade in Asia and some other parts of the word. And I'm sure there is a few of you that know about the Yulin Festival, which is starting this week.

Just in case you are new:

To keep it short, the festival is an event where about 10,000 dogs and cats are brutally killed and eaten. It is believed that torturing the animal and making them suffer (Skinning, burning, boiling them alive, bent or tied up in various unnatural positions, and beating them) makes the meat better and more tender. The torturing is done in front of other caged or tied animals, and in public in front of other people.


Often these animals were kidnapped from homes or are strays, transported in awful conditions. This so-called festival hasn't even been around for that long - it's only a few years old.



If you want more information you can do a quick search online, though it is difficult to read and even more difficult to see the pictures.
 

What can be done....

There is a ton of petitions out there that can be signed (Granted, 11 Million Signatures were handed and the government rejected/ignored it) but there are other small ways, such as a tiny donation to the Duo Duo Welfare project where they are raising money to provide emergency vet care that will be on standby for the dogs and cats that have been rescued. Or other charity groups like Humane Society International, also offering different types of assistance and promotions of change.

There are currently activists there too, thankfully - protesting, doing candle light vigils, or going directly into this hell and trying to save these animals with their bare hands. Let's honour and remember them for a moment!


Even just creating and spreading awareness would be wonderful. Like the social media campaign going on right now #FriendNotFood where you put orange on your pet (and quote if you like) take a picture and post it with said hashtag. 
 


Other hashtags include #Stopyulinforever #YulinDogMeatFestival  #Yulin or #Stopyulin2016. Spread pictures, links and articles, share posts, hashtag, promote, promote, promote! 


Some celebs have gotten involved, including Lisa Vanderpump and Rickey Gervais. 

Thank you everyone for your time for reading this.
 

I'm so glad you posted something about this, I think most people only think it's dogs that are being slaughtered but it is indeed cats as well. I sign just about every petition I see, if anyone wants the link to one, here's a popular one.

https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-yulin-dog-meat-eating-festival

Barbaric savages.

Difficult subject but Im with you Casieopea. Tears in eyes as I type thinking of it but also Im struck dumb by why the h would anyone do this let alone watch it. 

I can only ask that the higher forces numb these little souls so they feel and sense nothing. I look over to my little furboy and know that whats in him is in them. God keep them.

Yes I agree Fhicat.

You mentioned "Asia" in your post, so I don't know which countries you are specifically talking about, but I studied abroad in South Korea during summertime which considered the time for eating dog meat there (there is a specific week, I don't remember exactly when). I stayed with a Korean family and when the mother of the family told me about "dog meat week" I was very shocked (I am a dog person :O), but her son told me that only old people eat dog meat (rarely) there anymore and it is very unpopular with young people. The reason why old people still eat it is because during times of famine (like during the Korean war and earlier) people were forced to eat dogs in order to survive. So, there is a cultural precedent for eating dog meat there. Even though I find the idea of eating dog to be horrible, I don't think it's right to demonize people for eating it just because they have a different culture than you. Asian people ( mostly Koreans) face discrimination and ridicule (at least in the U.S. where I live) because people assume they are "dog eaters".

One anecdote comes to mind...When I took my kittens to my dad's workplace to try and find them homes, one of my dad's coworkers said about his other coworker, Richie, who is Filipino: "Keep the kittens away from Richie, he'll eat them!" It was supposed to be a joke, but it sure wasn't funny.

The abuse of dogs used for meat (at least in S.K., to my knowledge) is due in part to the illegality of eating or raising dogs for meat there. Since the production of dogs for food is illegal, the gangs or other criminals control it. These people have no reason to treat the dogs well (I would also argue that large, legal corporations that raise animals for their meat in the U.S. by and other countries also abuse livestock) to say the least. Ironically, the abuse wouldn't be an issue if dog meat was legalized because the production of dog meat would be subject to governmental regulations, but in order to seem more appealing and less "backward" to Westerners who vocally demonize Koreans who they assume eat dogs, the government in S.K has made it illegal.

Interestingly, I have also read that the popularity of dog meat in S.K (I don't know about other Asian countries) had declined a lot on its own until Westerners started shaming them and trying to get them to stop. In response, the consumption of dog meat took on more cultural significance and gained popularity because Westerners' contempt for it and their protests to it was a form of cultural imperialism. Therefore, I would say that Westerners' attempts to make S.K. "change its ways" have had the opposite effect.

I don't know about other Asian countries. I would assume China wouldn't care.

I am reminded of the scandal in the U.K about the secret horse meat in frozen burgers...people in the U.K were shocked, but the food was produced in France where it's okay to eat horse meat so they didn't care. (anyone in the U.K please correct me if I'm wrong )

So, I'd just say that the whole story is much more complex once you take into account people's cultural differences...

Sifl said:

 
You mentioned "Asia" in your post, so I don't know which countries you are specifically talking about, but I studied abroad in South Korea during summertime which considered the time for eating dog meat there (there is a specific week, I don't remember exactly when). I stayed with a Korean family and when the mother of the family told me about "dog meat week" I was very shocked (I am a dog person :O), but her son told me that only old people eat dog meat (rarely) there anymore and it is very unpopular with young people. The reason why old people still eat it is because during times of famine (like during the Korean war and earlier) people were forced to eat dogs in order to survive. So, there is a cultural precedent for eating dog meat there. Even though I find the idea of eating dog to be horrible, I don't think it's right to demonize people for eating it just because they have a different culture than you. Asian people ( mostly Koreans) face discrimination and ridicule (at least in the U.S. where I live) because people assume they are "dog eaters".

One anecdote comes to mind...When I took my kittens to my dad's workplace to try and find them homes, one of my dad's coworkers said about his other coworker, Richie, who is Filipino: "Keep the kittens away from Richie, he'll eat them!" It was supposed to be a joke, but it sure wasn't funny.

The abuse of dogs used for meat (at least in S.K., to my knowledge) is due in part to the illegality of eating or raising dogs for meat there. Since the production of dogs for food is illegal, the gangs or other criminals control it. These people have no reason to treat the dogs well (I would also argue that large, legal corporations that raise animals for their meat in the U.S. by and other countries also abuse livestock) to say the least. Ironically, the abuse wouldn't be an issue if dog meat was legalized because the production of dog meat would be subject to governmental regulations, but in order to seem more appealing and less "backward" to Westerners who vocally demonize Koreans who they assume eat dogs, the government in S.K has made it illegal.

Interestingly, I have also read that the popularity of dog meat in S.K (I don't know about other Asian countries) had declined a lot on its own until Westerners started shaming them and trying to get them to stop. In response, the consumption of dog meat took on more cultural significance and gained popularity because Westerners' contempt for it and their protests to it was a form of cultural imperialism. Therefore, I would say that Westerners' attempts to make S.K. "change its ways" have had the opposite effect.

I don't know about other Asian countries. I would assume China wouldn't care.

I am reminded of the scandal in the U.K about the secret horse meat in frozen burgers...people in the U.K were shocked, but the food was produced in France where it's okay to eat horse meat so they didn't care. (anyone in the U.K please correct me if I'm wrong

)

So, I'd just say that the whole story is much more complex once you take into account people's cultural differences...

Click to expand...

It sort of goes beyond just the issue of what meat is eaten and what isn't - it's also the problem of torture. And Westerner's shouldn't have to feel obliged to be under the title of so-called shaming when it comes to criticizing something that is entirely off and in-humane. I'm tired of this silly little wall that North Americans or Europeans or whomever are not allowed to comment on certain issues. Saying something against an injustice is also NOT a statement of implying that said group is automatically inferior. Obviously the whole country as a whole are not horrible cruel monsters, but the specific people that happily participate are. It's purely in regards to the rights of all humanity equally, and to stand up for all of it. 


I have been to China as a child for many many years, in Hong Kong, Beijing and various rural locations (Both due to my parents careers, and my great uncle had a cancer clinic) it was difficult experience - especially in regards to the clinic. I stumbled upon, at the back of my uncles clinic at the dumpster, 5 dead baby girls who were obviously unwanted. One had a bashed head, one was missing some limbs, and another strangled. I couldn't tel about the others.  Since it was a hospital it was not unusual for him to have to deal with that regularly. While off topic and it's whole other convo, the issue of female gendercide is also a problem, and not just in China (India, for example) 200 million girls have gone missing overall. More girls are killed in China and India than are born in the U.S.A each year. But again, like such other issues of things like female genital mutilation, it is stuck in a tangent of nonsense.

The market also was difficult to go through, to put it lightly. Cats and dogs were not the only ones treated unkindly. 

I've also been to Taiwan, Thailand, Korea, Japan (Just Tokyo though) and Vietnam when it comes to that section of the world. Every country in the world has something great to offer, but it's important to acknowledge the problems of every place equally too, not just criticize one and see another with rose coloured glasses. Altogether, I get the whole complexity word.

"Culture" is not an excuse for anything - misogyny, abuse, sexual crimes, whatever it may be. You can still have culture and evolve. Are the British any less British now that they don't punish scowling wives by dunking them in the river to almost drown or burn people alive at the stake in front of a jeering crowd? Are the Spaniards any less Spanish now that banning bullfighting has been considered? Mexicans any less Mexican now that they don't rip the hearts out of living victims for sacrifice? Etc Etc. There is a comfortable amount of the Chinese population themselves who are against the festival, even calling for more humane treatment everywhere, so it isn't just about a bunch of snobby white people sneering their noses. One of the more well known activists is a wonderful male Chinese fellow who goes undercover to try and save the animals from the Yulin festival. That Duo Duo Animal Welfare I mentioned in my main thread post? Executive Director and Founder of DDAWP, is Andrea Gung, a Chinese woman.

I'm also tired of the constant moral equivalency argument. Again, stuck against saying something because of "Oohhh but you guys do this and this too! Omahgerds!!!" it's getting to become an old circular weak statement and barely philosophical.

And apparently, as a quick example, it is totally ok to boycott on a Western country like Russia for their stance on Gay Laws - Not that I agreed to it myself mind you, but I never heard anyone go about saying "Oh but it is their culture! It's all about different perspectives!" Nope, instead social media, forums and the news were bursting with boycotting and politics against the Olympics. But nope, something like Honour Killings or animal abuse just means culture and requires some dainty nods of the head. Or "no, they are not all like that" statements. (Genuinely sorry, my own side vent here).

And as a farm girl, and as someone associated with farms massive and small, 95% of Western farmers treat their animals like pure gold, contrary to popular belief, so called trendy facts and stereotypes. If a cow or a pig were to die, they die humanely after a very reasonable life. You need to treat animals well to make a proper living. And a majority of farmers are not those massive millionaire looking estates, a lot of them are much smaller and humble and are just getting by.

And what may be harder for people to accept the eating of dogs and cats, is that dogs and cats have a whole other level of love, trust and bond with humans that is very unique. Of course other types of pets too, like horses and birds, but to keep on tract to this specific topic at hand there is also something special about those two furry types of animals.

Again, I already brought up the fact specifically that this Festival is not old. It is only a few years old, not hundreds or thousands of years old, so the traditional cultural aspect is not relevant. And sometimes eating a certain animal was never truly a long term tradition - like in Japan for example, the controversy over whale meat. It was argued it was a staple traditional diet by some politicians, but upon further research it actually never was, and few current Japanese citizens (aside for some rare seniors) actually eat the stuff. It doesn't even taste good.


And many people in lot's of dark circumstances, like famine and war, were forced to eat other types of animals. That isn't new. It happened during the World Wars and many other battles and strife in other countries. While there were hundreds of examples, World War I in particular was notorious for killing surviving horses and feeding them for a starving population. Tragic and sad, but not without comprehension. But that requirement of needing to eat these animals have died down since the stress of society diminished and normalcy in food and health regrew. And even during darkest times, there was still stories of affection and morale for the animals, dogs, cats, goats, donkeys etc with vet care being offered when able.

 

On a final note, the dogs and cats at this festival, many of them are pets that were stolen from owners behind their backs. Stolen. By force. That alone is a crime. 

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Pardon my long babbling reply post folks! And thanks altogether for those who responded, it's great!

Brave , bold, beautifully said. Thank you.

Not just pardoned, Cassiopeia, but APPLAUDED!!! Your arguments are sound and true. I, too, have signed petitions but to no avail. Therefore, I am committed to informing all whom I can of that outrageous "Youlin Dog Festival" and reminding them that boycotting Chinese products is a good way to get our voices heard....money talks, including in Yuan and RMB!!!! We WILL prevail!!!