Congressional resolution asks China to end Dog meat festival

A US Congressional resolution has asked China to end its flourishing dog meat trade and the annual dog meat festival, describing it as a cruelty to the animal.
The annual dog meat festival in Yulin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China, is scheduled to begin on June 21.
Thousands of dogs "are reported to be captured, transported in cages under horrific conditions and slaughtered every year for this Dog Meat festival," Congressman Alcee Hastings said on the House floor this week as he introduced a resolution in this regard.
Dog Meat festival, for human consumption, poses a risk to human health by exposing people to a multitude of diseases, including rabies and cholera, he said.

Hastings alleged that more than 10 million dogs are killed annually in China for the dog meat trade.
"This festival epitomises the cruelty of the industry. Many of these dogs are stolen from their owners and are still wearing their collars when they reach the slaughterhouses," he said.

Many die during transport to the slaughterhouses after days or weeks without food or water, and others suffer illness and injury during transport, such as broken bones.
The festival takes place in residential areas and public marketplaces, imposing scenes of extreme animal cruelty on local residents, including young children who may, as a result, suffer psychological trauma and desensitization, he added.

"It is a spectacle of extreme animal cruelty for commercial purposes. This practice, in my opinion, is completely unacceptable, and can be stopped by the diligent efforts of members of the Chinese government," Hastings said.
Tens of millions of people around the world have called upon the Government of China to officially end this festival and stop the mass slaughter of dogs.
In addition, it is often wrongly assumed to be a Chinese tradition, however, the majority of people in China do not consume dog meat and dog meat is not a part of mainstream Chinese culinary practice, he said.

Millions of Chinese recently voted in support of a legislative proposal by Zhen Xiaohe, a deputy to the National People's Congress of China, to ban the dog meat trade.