In Yulin, Guangxi, there is a street. This street is called "Dog Meat Street" by local people because of the gathering of dog meat food stalls.
The famous "Yulin's First Crispy Dog" originally covered the word "dog" on its signboard, and then changed it to "Crispy Pork". Now it is directly replaced by "Gao Lao".
Nowadays, the name of the store has become more and more subtle, which truly reflects the embarrassing situation of the so-called "Lychee and Dog Meat Festival" in Yulin in recent years.
Why are dog meat shop signs becoming more and more subtle?
In the past, during the summer solstice, the streets and alleys of Yulin would be filled with the unique scent of dog meat. Complete crispy-skinned dogs hung brightly outside shop doors, and bloody slaughter scenes were also extremely common.
But if you go for a walk on Jiangbin Road and Xinmin Road this year, you will find that it has completely changed.
On June 21, 2016, a reporter from the "Legal Evening News" reported that the dog meat hanging vertically on the streets had disappeared and many small shops had closed. Locals said this was due to rectification.
In the Yulin Market and Dongkou Vegetable Market, uniformed urban management and police officers patrolled back and forth.
An Xiang, a public interest lawyer who told Jiemian News, mentioned that there is no longer a "Lychee and Dog Meat Festival" in name only.
The author of "Compilation of China's Current Animal Protection Laws" is An Xiang. Over the years, he has been paying attention to the food safety issues in the Yulin dog meat market.
The restrictions imposed by the government on signboards and business activities are becoming more numerous and stricter. Correspondingly, merchants have to change their store names to become more subtle and continue to carry out business activities in this low-key manner.
Is the Dog Meat Festival a custom or cruelty?
The custom of eating dog meat among Yulin people can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty.
There is a clear record in the book "Yulin City Chronicles" published in 1993, which states that "fish are eaten during the winter solstice and dogs are eaten during the summer solstice." Later, because the water source was polluted, fish was no longer eaten. However, the habit of eating dog meat during the summer solstice has been well preserved.
For many locals, on the summer solstice, they will gather with three or five friends to eat dog meat, drink lychee wine, and then play guessing games. This is a way of gathering with friends and family that has lasted for hundreds of years.
In 2014, Southern Weekend interviewed Li He, the executive director of the Yulin Culture Time and Space Research Association. At that time, he talked about the situation that this custom should be the habit of local ethnic minorities. For the Han people, there is a saying that "dog meat is not included in banquets." However, here in Yulin, dog meat is an important dish when entertaining guests and friends.
In the eyes of dog lovers, dogs are human beings' loyal companions and should not be brought to the table.
There are two concepts, and these two concepts are in a state of head-on collision. It is precisely in this way that the summer solstice dinner party, which was originally only popular locally, eventually became the focus of national attention.
Confrontation between dog lovers and businesses escalates
In 2012, a performance artist named Katayama Sora performed a performance art in Dongkou Market to apologize to animals. This time, Yulin came into the national spotlight for the first time.
Since then, more and more animal protection groups have become concerned about the dog meat festival.
The real opposition erupted in 2014.
On June 19 of that year, Action Asia Animal Protection Team and many other organizations held an animal welfare salon in Yulin, calling for an end to dog-eating during the summer solstice. This move won the support of more than 60 animal protection groups across the country.
Movie stars like Zhao Wei openly opposed it, and members of animal protection organizations went to the Yulin site to protest, rescue cats and dogs, and even invited monks to liberate the slaughtered cats and dogs.
The dog lover who made the purchase was Yang Xiaoyun, who spent 150,000 yuan on his own to buy 360 dogs. In addition, he also bought dozens of cats.
The media's swarming reports put Yulin at the forefront of public opinion.
In fact, a similar situation occurred in Jinhua, Zhejiang in 2011. After animal protection organizations issued an appeal, the Ganxi Township government in Wucheng District canceled the officially sponsored Hutou Dog Meat Festival.
Food safety has become the most realistic breakthrough
There is a conflict of ideas among others. The food safety issue of dog meat is the legal issue that can really be brought to the table.
According to the "Animal Epidemic Prevention Law" and the "Animal Quarantine Management Measures", animals need to be quarantined at designated slaughterhouses by veterinarians on the basis of verification of the quarantine certificate of the place of origin.
After investigation, An Xiang and other lawyers discovered that there is no legal dog slaughterhouse in Yulin.
On March 27, 2015, a Beijing lawyer team represented by An Xiang sent an information disclosure application to the Yulin Municipal Government. The application sought to disclose the number of legal dog slaughterhouses and their qualifications.
On April 23, the Yulin Municipal Commerce Bureau gave a reply, which confirmed a certain point. Anxiang’s conclusion was clear, that is, the dog meat market in Yulin showed an illegal situation that was out of government supervision.
On the same day, Li Junqing, Party Secretary of the Yulin Municipal Food and Drug Administration, made it clear to Anxiang that the concept of a dog meat festival has never existed in Yulin. If a business holds one this year, it will be resolutely banned. The Food and Drug Administration is increasing its crackdown year by year until the industry is completely extinct.
The conflict continues, but in a different form
An Xiang told Jiemian News that the centralized sale of dog meat in Yulin has indeed been subject to more restrictions than in previous years. However, this does not mean that the habit of eating dog meat has changed. At the same time, it does not mean that the phenomenon of centralized sales has completely disappeared.
The store's name was originally "Yulin's First Crispy Dog", but was renamed "Gao Lao". The slaughter scene that had been on the street has now been moved to a hidden corner, and the dog meat that was originally sold openly is now sold through the introduction of acquaintances.
The people of Yulin did not completely abandon the practice of eating dogs during the summer solstice because of the opposition raised by dog lovers, and the government's supervision did not cause all the dog meat food stalls to completely disappear overnight.
On this ordinary riverside road in Yulin, there is a conflict between two values, and it is continuing in a quieter and more hidden way.
For those who are paying attention, this topic involves whether or not to eat dog meat is a personal choice. However, it is important for everyone to operate legally and in accordance with regulations and ensure food safety. We must not avoid the bottom line.
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