Just weeks before the scheduled start of Yulin, China’s notorious Lychee and Dog Meat Festival, where thousands of dogs are killed and eaten, we have reason to be optimistic the country’s dog meat trade will soon end. Learn how you can join us and our international rescue partners to stop Yulin's cruelty forever!

It’s estimated that around 10 million dogs are killed every year in China’s dog meat trade, but it’s becoming increasingly unpopular with the public. In March, Shenzhen became the first city in the country to ban the consumption of dog and cat meat, and was soon followed by Zhuhai. Both bans went into effect May 1.

Now, in a sweeping change, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has just announced that dogs are companions, and are no longer classified as “livestock.”

The official announcement was made with the publication of the Directory of Genetic Resources of Livestock and Poultry, which omitted them from the list of animals who can be commercially raised, bred and traded.

A spokesperson said that after public comments were solicited, most were not in favor of including dogs, and noted that the county's relationship with them has changed; They’re now considered companions, and serve many other important roles in search and rescue and as service dogs. It was also noted that our ideas are constantly changing, and traditional customs involving dogs will also change with them. It was also noted that society's ideas are constantly changing, and traditional customs involving dogs will also change with them.

This update is a game-changer for the dog meat trade. In Defense of Animals and our South Korean rescue partner Jindo Love Rescue have been working for years to fight the dog meat trade and rescue innocent victims, and we hope that China will now move quickly to end it for good.

The dog meat trade isn’t just insanely cruel, it poses a serious health risk to humans. The World Health Organization has linked it to outbreaks of numerous diseases in people, including cholera, trichinellosis and rabies, while there’s also the risk of contracting E.Coli and salmonella, or consuming meat from dogs who were killed with poison.  

It’s time to encourage China to end dog and cat meat consumption forever — including the notorious Lychee and Dog Meat Festival held in Yulin.

The update comes just ahead of the Yulin dog meat festival, which is still scheduled to take place June 21 through June 30 this year. Thousands of dogs will be tortured, butchered, skinned and eaten. 

It’s heartbreaking to think about the brutality and deaths these dogs will experience, but you can help end this cruelty by signing and sharing In Defense of Animals’ alert calling on Yulin to shut this barbaric event down by officially banning the consumption of dog meat if you have not done so already.