Why is the Yulin Dog Meat Festival a Big Deal?
In this article, I want to tackle the Yulin “Lychee & Dog Meat Festival” that happens every year in June. This year the festival will be the tenth consecutive year and will commence on June 21 and will end on June 30. This is nine complete days of torture and death for many dogs (and cats). From my research, it is estimated that 10,000 – 15,000 dogs will be brutally murdered in the streets of Yulin.
By no means is this an attack on all Chinese/Asian people, as not all of them eat dog meat or participate in this barbaric practice and just to mention that there are many Chinese animal rights activists who bravely and successfully save hundreds of dogs during this period, each year.
I have known about this festival for a few years now way before I went vegan and was and still am utterly disgusted in knowing that roughly 10,000+ dogs are slaughtered either by being bashed alive, thrown into a boiler alive or even as far as being scorched alive. What a horrific, unconscionable thing to do and after watching graphic videos and viewing some extremely graphic images, I am appalled and sick to my stomach. I cried while watching these poor innocent sentient beings, being beaten alive while strapped upside down and seeing their heads getting bashed in until they eventually lose consciousness and die. Their cries and yelps have already taken a toll on me emotionally and will haunt me for the rest of my days.
It is believed in China through tradition the more the dogs suffer through the torture and abuse during this excruciating, inhumane and vulgar death process, it is assumed that the increased adrenaline that circulates through the dog’s body because of all the pain, the flavour of the meat will taste better and by consuming dog meat the more luck one receives by eating them. It is also believed in this society that dog meat offers excellent health benefits to whoever eats it.
In the Western World, we see dogs as adoring pets, companions, animals that will protect us through loyalty. We view them as smart and attentive beings and besides being “man’s best friend”, we also use particular breeds to train as police and army dogs who aid in detaining criminals, drug smugglers and so forth. On top of this, we use Labrador’s as humanitarian aid for the blind. Dogs are loved, adored and our friends.
Now that I am a vegan and extremely passionate about the welfare of ALL animals that are sentient beings such as dogs, cows, cats, chickens, pigs and fish (Yes, fish too!). A professor at Macquarie University in Sydney Australia named Culum Brown has published a review in the “Journal Animal Cognition” in 2014 titled “Fish Intelligence, sentience and ethics”, this review has proved and clearly shows that fish are sentient and emotional beings and feel pain in much the same way that humans do!
It is now my mission to bring as much information about the suffering and cruelty that all these beings have to face each day just so you can put some meat on your plate, which we have known for a long time now, is not necessary for our diet.
In knowing this, what difference is it if humans in any area of the world decide to eat dogs or cows? Cats or pigs? This boils down to culture which includes but not limited to traditions, social behaviour, society and even religion.
A perfect example of how culture plays an essential role of which animals we love and which animals we eat is in India;
In the majority of Indian states, it is illegal to consume or possess beef. In India, cows are sacred and honoured in society, and many Hindus don’t eat meat.
What would happen if India decided to protest our right to eat cows, in much the same way the rest of the world are protesting against the Chinese eating dog and cat meat festival? If India decided to attack our right to eat cows, we would see that as an attack on our culture.
If you find yourself outraged and are having trouble comprehending how any civilization can eat dogs and cats, you are not alone. There is worldwide uproar and pressure on the Yulin Government to ban this preposterous practice, however from the looks of things this festival is sure to go ahead again this year.
I am by no means condoning this horrific event, in fact, it sickens me to the core, although we cannot be racist or biased towards other cultures, just because it is not our way.
The Chinese and many Asian cultures have eaten dog and cat meat for centuries, they have strong belief systems surrounding the consumption of eating these animals in terms of bringing them good health and good luck.
Here in Australia, we have also been conditioned culturally to eat cows, pigs and chickens and one of our traditions is Christmas, we consume copious amounts of turkey, chicken, ham and lamb for example. We also spit roast lamb and pigs for special occasions such as birthdays and weddings
The methods of which the Yulin community choose to slaughter the dogs i.e. Scorched alive, boiled alive, tied up and bashed to death are very similar to the way we process and slaughter our cows for beef, our pigs for bacon and our chickens for nuggets. We like to say it is humane; I ask the question to whoever is reading this;
How do you humanely kill an innocent being who has the desire to live and not die?
It is nearly impossible to comprehend – but we need to realise that here in Australia we are victims of the very same cultural conditioning.
Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. The difference here is in Yulin they openly slaughter and torture dogs (and cats) on the street and have a festival to celebrate it. Here in Australia it is the same pain and suffering for our “food animals” except we hide our slaughterhouses in far away remote areas of the country because our government and the food industry know that if the slaughterhouses had glass windows and we were given the ability to see what goes on behind these concrete walls, there would most certainly be an outcry from the public. Protests and activists would be in place causing absolute chaos and the industry that is worth billions to our economy would eventually collapse.
It is time we all reflected and focused on our own backyard, our own beliefs as well our culture and stopped being biased against particular species for food. We can’t be prejudice against any species – We love them all or its nothing!
With high profile celebrity support and petitions now reaching the millions, the international pressure on Yulin to permanently cancel the dog eating festival may soon be successful. This is a YouTube video featuring:
Matt Damon, Joaquin Phoenix, Maggie Q, Sia, Kate Mara, Rooney Mara, Tony Kanal, Andy Cohen, Kristin Bell, Pam Anderson, Alicia Silverstone, Edward James Olmos, Tricia Helfer, Minnie Driver, Alyssa, Milano, Wendie Malick, Bill Maher, Russell Simmons, JR Bourne, Kristin Bauer van Straten and Jenna Tatum
This is their attempt to reach millions to stop exploiting the dog meat trade. I highly recommend watching until the end, as a precaution, there are disturbing images in this footage.
After watching and seeing for yourself the cruel and barbaric practices the participants of the Yulin dog meat festival stow upon the world, you’re now outraged, angered and full of sadness….. WELL, THAT’S HOW VEGANS FEEL EVERY DAMN DAY!!
At the end of the day inflicting pain on any sentient being is not OK. We need to stop being hypocrites by being speciesist, which is the assumption of human superiority leading to the exploitation of animals. We need to stop dictating what animals we love and what animals we use for food, regardless of where we live in the world.
On the 21 June 2018 it will be a sad day for the innocent and helpless dogs of Yulin in China. The link below is a petition to help stop this barbaric practice, please show your support by signing this petition: Stop The Yulin Dog Meat Festival Petition
If you are interested in learning more about how to become a vegan or you are genuinely curious as to what it means to be vegan and how we can save the animals. Veganism is a lifestyle, not a diet.
I have listed some videos that I personally recommend for all to see.
Gary Yourofski Best Speech Ever
You Will Never Look at Your Life in the Same Way Again | Eye-Opening Speech!
Fat Sick & Nearly Dead * All Logo’s, photos and brands used in this article are the property of the perspective creator/manufacturer. *
#LiveKindly #CrueltyFree #Veganism #Compassion #Yulin #YulinDogFestival