China: Annual dog meat festival begins amid COVID-19, activists hope this to be last year

The ten-day annual dog meat festival in China has opened while violating the government campaign of improving the situation of animals in the country. However, according to reports, the activists are hoping that its days are limited. The controversial festival that takes place in the southwestern city of Yulin welcomes thousands of visitors every year but activists have said that its popularity is now plunging.  The Chinese government is now exploring new legislation to halt the trade and assure protection of the pet animals. Therefore, the campaigners are hoping that 2020 will be the last year when the dog meat festival takes place in the country. 

While talking to an international media agency, the Chinese policy specialist with an animal rights group called the Humane Society International Peter Li has said that ‘Yulin will change’. According to him the fate of the dog-meat festival is doomed to alter not only because of the animal welfare but also the health and safety of the humans. Amid the coronavirus outbreak which is speculated to have been originated from China’s ‘sea-food’ market in Wuhan, Peter said that mass gathering in Yulin for the purchase of dog meats poses a ‘significant health risk’ and it also acts as a 'breeding ground for a pandemic'.

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Vow to ban wildlife trade

The novel coronavirus, which has now infected over 8.9 million people across the globe and many parts are still struggling to control the outbreak, is believed to have been transmitted by bats. This similarity of SARS-CoV-2 with the strains found in horseshoe bats has prompted the Asian superpower to reassess its handling of animals in the country. Moreover, the global pressure against such markets in China has made the government pledge to ban the wildlife trade. 

According to an international media agency, Shenzhen became the first Chinese province to ban the consumption of dogs in April and other cities are also expected to act in accordance it. Moreover, the agriculture ministry has made the decision of classifying dogs as pet animals rather than consuming them for livestock. But it still remains unclear as of how the change in classification of dogs would affect the trade that takes place in Yulin. 

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Inputs: Agency/ Image: AP