YULIN, China (June 27, 2024) — The Global Anti-Dog Meat Coalition welcomes the news that Yulin has hosted a high-profile modern fashion show on June 20 and a lion dance competition on June 21 to promote “classic and beautiful traditional Chinese culture to the world.” The Duo Duo Project reports that these events have been widely publicized by the Yulin Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, TV, and Tourism, and appear to be designed to divert attention from the notorious Yulin Lychee and Dog Meat Festival, which has faced global outrage and condemnation.

“It’s fantastic that Yulin is shifting its focus toward positive cultural celebrations and away from cat and dog meat,” said Fleur Dawes, of the Global Anti-Dog Meat Coalition. “Government support for the fashion show and lion dance contest is an encouraging sign that local and international advocacy is making a difference. We support and encourage Yulin and Chinese authorities to speed their transition towards a future without the criminal dog and cat meat trade.”

Both the fashion show and the lion dance competition are being heavily promoted on local TV stations, newspapers, radio stations, and the official social media accounts of the Yulin Municipal Bureau of Culture. The official language used for promoting these events is: “An expression of traditional culture in the new era, renewing the heart of an urban city.”

The Duo Duo Project ground team has reported another promising development: the noticeable absence of new temporary dog meat stands, which usually proliferate during the dog meat festival. Additionally, many of the older stands have disappeared. They believe these changes can be attributed to the new Yulin Party Secretary, Wang Shen, who took office in June 2023 and has shown a progressive stance on this issue.

For years, Yulin’s dog meat festival has been a symbol of extreme animal cruelty, where thousands of dogs and many cats are brutally slaughtered for their meat on the summer solstice. The festival has faced growing opposition both domestically and internationally, with numerous campaigns and protests calling for its end. The Duo Duo Project and Global Anti-Dog Meat Coalition members have been at the forefront of these efforts, working tirelessly to rescue dogs and cats and pressure authorities to stop this horrific practice.

While rescuers celebrate these positive steps, they face rising costs and challenges. Starting August 1, new government restrictions by the CDC on dog imports will significantly impact the ability to bring rescued dogs to loving forever homes in the U.S. These restrictions add to the already substantial costs, doubling the expense of bringing a rescue dog to the U.S. from China for adoption.

These increased costs and logistical hurdles make it even more crucial for members of the public to support and fund rescue efforts. The dedication of our rescuers and the generosity of our supporters are essential to overcoming these barriers and ensuring cat and dog meat survivors find safe, loving homes.

Dogs saved from the Yulin festival enjoy a walk. Suki Land Rescue is supported by members of the Global Anti-Dog Meat Coalition. Photo: Suki Land Rescue

Suki Land Rescue is caring for over 100 survivors from Yulin’s Dog Meat Festival and other dog meat slaughterhouses. Suki has given these dogs safety and loving care since they were rescued by Animal Hope & Wellness Foundation rescue in 2017. However, the rescue’s funding has reached dangerously low levels. Most dogs remaining in Suki’s care are traumatized or suffer health problems from their abuse. They need special attention and an extra level of veterinary care, particularly as they age. Any donation, whether a lump sum or monthly, will greatly help these Yulin senior survivors live out the rest of their lives in peace and love. Please consider making a donation via PayPal: @AHWF1

While China is estimated to slaughter around 10 million dogs and 4 million cats every year, most Chinese people don’t eat dogs or cats, and many are appalled by Yulin's slaughter. China has over 200 animal rescues and many more activists who go to great personal risk to rescue animals.

China’s cat and dog meat trade depends on illegal theft and transport of beloved animal companions who sometimes arrive at the market wearing their collars. In 2020, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture stripped dog meat traders of any legitimacy by de-listing dogs from its national directory of animals that can be bred, raised, traded, or transported for commercial purposes. Shenzen and Zhuhai in Guangdong province passed city-wide bans on dog and cat meat in the same year. 

The Global Anti-Dog Meat Coalition encourages China to continue to crack down on cat and dog meat with a national ban like the one South Korea passed in January 2024, which followed decades of campaigning by coalition members and other animal advocates.

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CONTACTS: 

Fleur Dawes, media@idausa.org, 415-879-6879
Sheena Gao, sheenagao@yahoo.com, 858-699-4511

ADOPT A SURVIVOR

Loving homes for deserving dog and cat meat survivors are always needed. Learn how to adopt: 

Paws of China
Suki Land Rescue
WOW Rescue Society
Jindo Love Rescue (South Korea) 

DONATE TO SAVE DOGS

Supporting ongoing rescue efforts for dog meat victims:

Suki Land Rescue via Animal Hope and Wellness donate
Global Anti-Dog Meat Coalition via In Defense of Animals donate 

BECOME A FLIGHT VOLUNTEER

If you fly between the U.S. and Asia, please learn about our ongoing need for flight volunteers to courier dogs to new homes.

TAKE ACTION 

Sign the alert and urge China to stop Yulin’s dog meat festival by banning the dog and cat meat trade.

MAKE THE SWITCH

If you love dogs and cats, please consider our mass torture of 55 billion playful and intelligent animals. Pigs, cows, chickens, fish, and sheep suffer just like dogs and cats used for meat. No animal wants to suffer or die. Make the connection then make the switch.

Download free Vegan Starter Guide

ORGANIZATIONS

The Global Anti-Dog Meat Coalition is a collective effort between like-minded nonprofit organizations and individuals working together to end the cat and dog meat trade.

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a 40-year history of defending animals, people, and the environment, including cats and dogs victims of the meat trade. In partnership with Jindo Love Rescue, In Defense of Animals has rescued hundreds of dogs from South Korea’s dog meat trade and found them loving forever homes in North America: www.idausa.org/dogmeat

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