There are very few things that make me incredibly/smoke-out-of-my ears kinda mad. On the day to day, I like to think my temper is pretty even keeled.
Until you try to tell me someone is hurting an animal (or a child, for that matter)… & then a whole other side of me comes out. One that even scares me a little.
I have been seeing the “STOPYULIN2015” hashtag for a few days now, but honestly… I have family in town & haven’t had the time to sit down and look more into it, until last night. I am not one of those people who posts something on social media just because everyone else is. I need to be fully informed.
So, when I finally got some free time, I started researching. The researching quickly turned into hysterical sobbing, then hyperventilating, then pacing, then rage, & then action. I didn’t just want to post an Instagram & move on my life, I wanted to do everything physically possible to try and play my part in stopping this horrific event from happening.
First, let me tell you a little bit about this Yulin Dog Meat “Festival” (p.s. calling it a festival is twisted).
» This festival began in either 1990 or 2009 (conflicting dates on the web) to celebrate the Summer Solstice, meaning this event in particular is no life long Chinese tradition, which some people in favor of this horrific event are claiming.
» The tradition being referred to is the act of eating dog meat in general, & yes, it has been going on in China long before written history. In around 202 AD, the Chinese believed eating dog meat was a delicacy to help warm the body, making it an ideal meal for the cold winter months. When eaten in the summer, it is believed it brings luck & good health. According to this source, noodles, vegetables, & tofu also are said to bring luck & good health.
» Speaking of health, China has the second largest amount of rabies cases in the world & the dogs being taken to Yulin are in very poor health/injected with toxins when captured/& have a highly compromised immune system. There are absolutely zero food safety standards in regards to dog meat, so letting this festival go on isn’t only cruel, but also negligent to health of their citizens.
» In 2011, thanks to a social media campaign similar to #STOPYULIN2015, the 600 year old Jinhua Hutou Dog Meat festival was banned. The problem with the Yulin festival, making it hard to officially ban (supposedly), is that the Yulin Municipal People’s Government claims no such festival exists.
» China has no animal protection law in place, although it has been discussed since 2009, nothing has been signed.
» To prepare for this festival, 10,000 dogs (although some are saying it’s closer to 40,000 dogs & 10,000 cats) will be brutally beaten (because they think it makes the dogs taste better?!!?!), slaughtered, skinned, & boiled alive. Many of these animals, if not diseased strays, are house pets that are stolen from peoples homes and bred to make even more animals for them to subject to this torture.
» The animal activists in China are trying to help, but to little success due to the amount of money being made in the dog trade. The amount of dog being eaten this year is only increasing as the backlash is only making the locals want to resist & protect their “tradition”. According to this source, one man selling puppies, when finding out they weren’t for consumption, threatened to cut open four puppies right then & there if the buyer didn’t “meet his inflated price”. The buyer/dog lover/activist ended up buying 300 of the caged dogs for $15,000.
» One common argument in this whole dog meat festival/tradition is that it is no different from our western slaughter houses & we are all hypocrites. They claim that by eating cows we are offending Hindu’s & eating pigs is offending the Jews. I feel ya, totally, but unlike the dog trade, we have strict regulations in place. First of all, we are not stealing peoples house pets to brutalize & eat. The farm animals being referred to are bred under controlled conditions with health regulations & standards set strongly in place. Yes, our transportation methods need improvement, but we do have laws to help regulate this as well & we are not crushing these animals in crates breaking there legs/giving them no food/and causing them severe physical & psychological damage. Before the slaughter, we have very strict regulations in place for that as well, health wise & with the consideration of the animal as well. Yes, there are MANY situations in our western civilization where these humane ways of slaughtering animals is not carried out correctly & I absolutely do NOT agree with that, but activists here are fighting against that on the daily & the fight will continue on and I will continue to support that. The dogs in China, there is zero humanity considered when slaughtering them. The ways they kill these animals is cruel & pure torture as they feel the cruelty inflicted increases adrenaline in the animals, making them taste better/increases the health benefits of this (very unhealthy!!) meat.
IS THE STEAM COMING OUT OF YOUR EARS YET? Yea, it’s sickening, horrible, cruel, mean, awful, ruthless, & needs to come to an end. You can make a difference (just like we did in regards to the Jinhua Hutou Dog Meat festival) & here is how:
» Share a picture on all of your social networks informing people to spread the word & sign all the petitions available using the hashtag #STOPYULIN2015 & (better) #STOPYULINFOREVER.
» Sign this petition & every other petition you can find on the internet. Share these links on your Facebook/Twitter/& blog as well!
» Send a seperate email to the Chinese Department of Agriculture (xinfangchu@agri.gov.cn), GuangXi FDA department (sp@gxfda.gov.cn), & the Chinese Embassy in DC (chinaembpress_us@mfa.gov.cn). You can write a civilized letter of your own, or use this pre-written template.
We can make a difference & I pray that we do before this evil event is supposed to take place June 21st, 2015.
Thank you all for reading!
x, E