Dog meat festival in China kicks off as planned to celebrate Midummer Night

Despite widespread outrage, a dog meat festival in China will be going ahead as planned this week.

The festival, which kicks off on Friday, is an annual celebration that takes place in the city of Yulin in the Guangxi province. According to the Guardian, the event is considered an ancient summer solstice tradition by local residents. They are said to “cherish their city's dog-meat culture, which involves the mass consumption of dog-meat hotpot served with lychees and strong grain liquor.”

Animal rights groups insist, however, the festival is cruel. Activists say about 10,000 dogs — reportedly often transported and kept in inhumane conditions — are killed during the festival every year; many are burned, electrocuted and skinned alive, according to reports.

“We have seen animals beaten just before being cooked,” Du Yufeng, founder of Chinese animal rights group Boai Small Animal Protection Center, told the Agence France-Presse. “The more we inspect, the more cruelty we discover.”

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