A dog shadow reflects of the wall of an enclosure at the French Society for the Protection of Animals (Societe de protection des animaux - SPA), animal rescue centre, in Plaisir on June 17, 2022.

Wildlife conservation activists saved tons of dogs from a vehicle in China ZS that was transporting them to the extremely contentious Yulin dog meat "celebration."

 

386 Dogs Rescued


Activists claim the "trailer from purgatory" was hauling 386 canines in cramped circumstances when it was stopped by authorities in Shaanxi city on Sunday.

Shaanxi is around 800 kilometers from Yulin, where the so-called festival of dog meat is held annually notwithstanding measures to prohibit it.

The activists' footage and photographs, which were handed to the worldwide wildlife conservation organization Humane Society International (HSI), depict the instant the vehicle was stopped, with horrific sights of canines jammed within tiny metal kennels in the summer sun, The Independent reported.

Covered in The Guardian report is the official statement of Lin Xiong, one of the activists on the incident whom also informed Humane Society International, an animal welfare organization that assists the treatment of canines recovered from China's meat market, the rescue operation was awful to witness so much canines in this kind of terrible condition; it seemed literally a vehicle from purgatory for these unfortunate creatures.

While Dr Peter Li, HSI's China affairs expert, claimed that regardless of the premise that most Chinese citizens do not eat dog meat, dog feasting areas in the south, including such Yulin, nonetheless persist, and thousands of animals end up suffering horribly.

In addition to representing a wildlife conservation disaster, the Yulin assembly violates China's Covid-19 regulations and is mostly driven by dog smugglers, so there are strong grounds for the government to seriously impose sanctions on this activity.

Whereas the campaigners applauded the criminal action in Shaanxi, they argued a comparable punitive strategy should be used throughout the nation to halt the cruel dog meat commerce.

Given the prominence of the event and attempts by the dog meat market to keep its operation afloat, around 72% of Yulin residents say they do not even consume dog meat on a daily basis.

If simply every authority in China had similarly a rigorous punitive stance to these dog poachers and trafficking, the dog industry here will be over.

Also read: 430-Million-Year-Old Charcoal Deposits Reveal the Oldest Wildfires on Record


Yulin Dog Meat Festival Continues to Endanger Thousand of Dogs

Activists too have published another video from a dog meat marketplace in Yulin city center on June 18, where trade booths are heaped high with dog and cat corpses.

According to HSI, traffickers seldom, if ever, paid the charges since the fine surpasses the revenue, they would receive from purchasing the dogs.

The event is held annually between the 21st and 30th of June to commemorate the midsummer, and although it has arrived under strenuous surveillance in latest ages due to global uproar and an increase in pet ownership in China, the Yulin Town council has always stated that it is unable to halt the carnival because it does not occur as an organized ceremony, as per news media site Mirror.

The canines found this weekend have been taken to an authorities' confinement station for 21 days to recuperate and get specialized care.

2 significant Chinese urban areas, Shenzhen and Zhuhai, have forbidden the expenditure of dog and cat meat, a judgement that was backed by now almost 75% of Chinese residents polled.

Related article: 72-Foot Yacht Caught Fire and Sank, Three Passengers and Two Dogs Survive Miraculously