Yulin: A dog meat festival
There is currently an outrage surrounding the Yulin Dog Festival. This is a festival that occurs yearly in southern China. Around 10,000 dogs and cats are expected to be killed during the 10 day celebration. Supporters for this festival argue that it is a tradition and that the animals are being treated humanely, while protesters feel that the animals are killed brutally and that the torture is glorified.
I personally feel that this festival should not occur and that the torture of these cats and dogs is being glorified, but it led me to think about it as a deeper issue. Everyday, all across the world animals are killed in inhumane ways but people do not recognize this as they turn a blind eye to what is happening. When the meat is nicely packaged and easily available for purchase, and most importantly you do not have to see the slaughter yourself, they do not have an issue buying it. I understand that in the United States and in other western countries dogs are seen as a companion animal and not as food but I want to focus this piece on the larger issue. The Yulin government has said, “The so-called summer solstice lychee dog meat festival does not exist. Neither Yulin government nor social organizations have ever held such activities.” The government is denying a festival that apparently holds so much meaning to so many people and saying that it does not exist. They are denying it and I would be led to assume that this is because they know it is not right.
According to sources, many of the dogs are brought to the festival without any water or food and some are even wearing dog collars implying that they were stolen. The festival is cruel and needs to end but hopefully the outrage helps bring awareness to the animal abuse that occurs everyday in western civilization.
The problem lies in that people often care about extreme events while they are happening or are about to happen. When events such as the Yulin Festival are at the forefront of the news, it is easy to understand why people all of a sudden have such compassion for this issue but as soon as there is another picture or article that outrages them they quickly forget about the dogs. I am not a vegetarian but strictly only eat organically raised meat. I do not believe in caging and torturing animals, as is done in this festival and all across the world. Animals, like people, deserve to live free and happy lives and while I have considered becoming a vegetarian I still feel that meat can be a sustainable and humane part of my diet.