Yulin Dog Meat Festival The summer solstice is held as scheduled every year, and this year is no exception.
In the same city, there are two scenes. One is where diners are shirtless and eating food to their heart's content. The other is where dog lovers come from all over the country and kneel on the ground to save dogs. These two completely different scenes collide fiercely.
There is a controversy surrounding the eating of dog meat. It is no longer just a matter of dietary preference. Behind it is multiple battles involving folk customs, emotions, business and animal rights.
On the summer solstice, the streets are empty and dog meat stalls are doing brisk business
June 21, the day of the summer solstice, Guangxi Yulin once again became the focus of public opinion.
At the dog meat street at the junction of Jiangbin Road and Xinmin Road, a reporter saw that the entire street was filled with a strong smell of meat.
At the entrance of the food stall, flames were jumping high from the stove, and dog meat soup was boiling in large pots.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, when the temperature was still very high, many strong local men in Yulin took off their shirts and sat around the hot pot shirtless. While toasting each other and communicating, the sounds of shouting continued.
Looking at the reporter's camera, a young man yelled at the top of his voice: "Eat, eat, let him take pictures! We have to ask outsiders to take a look at what we look like during the festival." The streets were lined with luxury cars with foreign license plates, including BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes, and many diners from surrounding cities came here to join in the fun.
Local citizens have revealed that on the summer solstice every year, tens of thousands of dogs are eaten in Yulin, and the actual number may be even higher than this.
Live dogs were slaughtered in the street, and the bloody scene caused controversy
Behind the bustling dining table is a shocking slaughter scene.
At a live dog slaughtering site near Nanqiao Market, reporters witnessed the entire process. A yellow-haired dog was forced out of an iron cage with iron pliers around its neck. Before it had time to react, its throat was held down, and then its head was hit hard with a sap.
Amidst the wailing sound, the dog died instantly, and blood spattered on the ground.
They are then skinned, gutted, transported to various sales stalls, and finally served on the table.
This kind of scene is not unique in Yulin. Similar killing spots can be seen everywhere on the street.
In the local area, a taxi driver told reporters that in Yulin, the traditional custom of eating dog meat has existed since ancient times. There is a widely circulated saying among the people that "if you eat a summer solstice dog, the west wind will take a detour."
Dating back to the late 1990s, the custom of eating dogs has continued to spread from rural areas to cities, and the number of dog meat restaurants has increased. Especially during the season when lychees are in hot demand, everyone likes to invite relatives and friends to go to the streets to taste dog meat.
However, no one can accurately explain the circumstances under which this festival originated. Some people speculate that it was probably made up by a few alcoholics who were trying to find an excuse to facilitate their own eating and drinking.
Dog lovers kneel down to save their dogs, and online scolding escalates
Dog lovers come from all over the country, and their situation is in sharp contrast to the lively dog meat festival.
They rushed to Yulin one after another, trying to prevent the pet dogs that were about to be slaughtered from being killed by the butcher's knife.
On the summer solstice of the previous year, a man who loved dogs knelt down in front of a table filled with dog meat and performed the act of "apologizing to the dogs."
The photo caused an uproar after it was posted online.
This year, many celebrities have joined the ranks of the boycott. Among them, Shu Qi, Huang Rihua, Charmaine Sheh, Wu Pace and others have used Weibo to voice their voices to call for the cancellation of the Yulin Lychee and Dog Meat Festival, expressing demands such as "spare certain animals" and "give dogs the dignity they deserve."
On the Internet, resisters and defenders launched an extremely fierce war of words, making the Yulin Dog Meat Festival completely the focus of public opinion.
However, Yulin people have not restrained themselves because of the controversy. Instead, they have attracted outsiders who come here to taste it.
A short, dark-skinned, honest-faced young man, who was born in the 1980s, flew back to his hometown from Zhengzhou City, Henan Province to celebrate the festival. He said: "People in our Yulin area attach great importance to this festival. I have been eating dog meat since I was a child. This is our local folk tradition. I really don't understand why those outside are so fiercely opposed."
Folk customs or cruelty, two values conflict head-on
The essence of this conflict is a head-on collision of two values.
For the local people in Yulin, eating dog meat during the summer solstice is a habit passed down from generation to generation, and it is also a way of socializing that can enhance the relationship between friends.
A food stall owner in a specific local area directly expressed his attitude that if you dare to interfere with the practice of eating dog meat, those people will pick up a knife and hurt others. Although this statement is exaggerated, it actually reflects the persistence of the people living in the local area towards such a custom.
For those who love dogs, dogs are human friends. Killing them alive and bloody on the streets is really too cruel.
They couldn't accept the pet dogs that once accompanied humans, but ended up being served on the dinner table in this way.
There is little room for reconciliation between the two positions.
There are a few local citizens who don’t eat dog meat, like Ms. Xu Qun from Oujingjia Garden. She doesn’t eat dog meat just because her body constitution can easily lead to getting angry. However, her whole family eats dog meat. “There are very few relatives and friends around who don’t eat it. After all, eating food like lychee and dog meat has become a trend.”
Thinking behind the controversy: Respect does not equal recognition
The conflict caused by the Yulin Dog Meat Festival will hardly have an answer in the short term.
From a legal perspective, there is currently no explicit prohibition on the consumption of dog meat in our country. As long as its source is legal and it has been quarantined and guaranteed to be qualified, eating dog meat is not illegal.
But from an emotional and civilized perspective, many people find it difficult to accept this bloody way of eating.
There is a conflict between two positions. This conflict reminds us that when faced with customs contained in different regions and cultures, respect is not the same as recognition, and opposition does not mean the ability to force interference.
Perhaps the real solution to the problem is not to let one party suppress the other, but to find a balanced state within the limits of laws and regulations, such as regulating slaughter methods, reducing the bloody scenes of street slaughter, and clearly clarifying the source of dog meat.
Regardless, the debate over dog meat festivals will continue.
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