To celebrate the arrival of summer, thousands of dogs and cats are tortured and eaten at Yulin festival in China

Every year on June 20, the city of Yulin (China) celebrates the arrival of the summer solstice by torturing and massacring thousands of dogs and cats ... To be eaten! Explanations about a "festival" that scandalizes and challenges us about our own eating habits.

The summer solstice (June 21) is the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere, when the Sun is also the highest in the sky. It is an astronomical event celebrated around the world, most often by tributes to nature.

But not always, as evidenced by the infamous Yulin Festival in Guangxi Autonomous Province in southwestern China. For the past few years, June 21 has become an immense open-air banquet: up to 10,000 dogs and 4,000 cats are tortured, slaughtered, cut up, sold in pieces or eaten on site!

If some Chinese actually eat dogs or cats, there is little breeding of dogs for consumption, mainly because of the cost. On the other hand, stray dogs, abandoned dogs, many dogs stolen as well, unsold dogs from pet shops or shelters are the first victims of this pseudo-medicinal appetite for dog meat, details a report produced by the Animals Asia Foundation in 2015. .

Once recovered, the dogs are transported in appalling conditions until the festival of Yulin. "During the days leading up to the event, the merchants display the live animals, compressed in iron cages." Dogs and cats are brandished with a spear that wraps around their neck, killed on the spot with sticks and then bled In the opinion of the amateurs, the more the animal suffers, the more the meat will be tasty ... ".

Indeed, the more the dogs are tortured, the more their meat is considered tender, which is a guarantee of virility for all the men who will eat them ... These barbarous acts are made out of sight, just before holding of the festival, a little like at home in our slaughterhouses.

On this gigantic open-air market, almost everything is sold and eaten in the dog: snouts, paws, tail. Dogs are also served on the premises, fried, grilled or boiled, accompanied by lychees and strong alcohol.

A despicable "festival" that scandalizes

This event provokes indignation around the world: in 2015 a petition calling for the end of this festival garnered more than 4 million signatures. In 2014, the official authorities of the city of Yulin took their distance and refused to be associated with the festival.

Many animal welfare associations make known and denounce these barbaric practices. Result: during the festival the number of slaughtered dogs was divided by 10 in 2015. But it is to forget that all the year, in Yulin, one eats dog.

As expected, the 2018 edition of this festival opened June 21 because it is not forbidden to eat dog meat in China (even in France, legislation on this point is confusing).

Contrary to popular belief, all Chinese do not eat meat, it is quite unusual, as explained by a Chinese student. Moreover, more than 9 million Chinese are demanding a law to ban the consumption of dogs but also cats, says Animals Asia.

An international petition, among many others, has been launched by Animals Asia calling for the end of this "festival" of shame. In France, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation launched a petition in April 2015, collecting more than 178,000 signatures.

Practices that should challenge us about our meat consumption

Eating pets is a big blow to Westerners who see the dog as a sensitive, dedicated and more or less intelligent animal. And yet, the Gauls ate dog and until the first half of the nineteenth century, there were canine butchers in France.

Today, a large majority of French eat pig (to speak only of them), an animal as sensitive and probably smarter than the dog, without this causes much disgust or compassion. However, nearly 13 million pigs are raised in France (Agreste, 03/2017), under conditions of breeding and transport, often criticized. And slaughter, carried out in the shadows and forbidden to the public, is regularly tainted with scandals, as illustrated by that of a slaughterhouse in the Gard where Sadism, stupidity and cruelty coexist.

Every year in China, between 10 and 20 million dogs are killed to be eaten, while China has a herd of about 400 million pigs and imports massively (especially from France), but there are few voices ...

Finally, let us remember that each year, in France, 1.1 billion animals are slaughtered to be eaten, without any reasonable justification since the meat is not essential for us to live in good health and contaminates our environment sustainably.

Some images and videos are used without the express authorisation of the copyright holders. They are used under what's known in British law as "Fair Dealing" and under US law as "Fair Use" exceptions. For example, exceptions relating to research and private study, criticism or review, or news reporting. For more information visit the UK Gov or the US Gov