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WARNING:Graphic content

Holly Williams for Art-Sheep

In the Yulin prefecture of China there is an annual festival to celebrate the summer solstice, that has sparked unprecedented outrage amongst activists, as well as people around the globe. The summer-solstice lychee dog meat festival, as it is called has been the cause for the brutal slaughter of 40.000 dogs and cats, that are often stolen from their owners, taken from back yards and from the streets and cooked for their meat. This unspeakable tradition has begun, reportedly, around the the 90s and it is based on a superstition, as dog consumption is thought to bring good health and luck. The material and information gathered by activist groups are shocking. The pets are reported to be packed in cages, skinned and boiled alive and the whole festival is characterized by such brutality that it borders on sadism.

The government, on the other hand, appears to conveniently turn a blind eye to the whole situation, an attitude reinforced by the fact that their is no animal protection law in China. Many celebrities, most prominently Ricky Gervais, have started campaigns on the social media in order to put pressure on the government, while many online petition websites have appealed for the cause.

With 22 June, the day of the festival getting closer, Duo Duo Animal Welfare Project organization asks people to sign here, in order to make a stand and put an end to this atrocity, once and for all.

 

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 Photos: newrepublic, the web