Help end Chinese dog meat trade, dog lovers tell Congress

A group of 15 dog owners and animal rights activists gathered on Capitol Hill this week to oppose the Yulin dog meat festival that began yesterday in China.

“We are here to give a voice to the voiceless,” said Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., interrupted by a chorus of dogs barking. “It’s ironic because they’re all here!”

The annual summer celebration hosts the torture and killing of over 10,000 dogs to feed festival-goers, Zeldin said.

He said many of the dogs eaten at the festival are stolen from their owners, some even arriving at the slaughterhouse still wearing their collars.

Zeldin and 50 other U.S. representatives of both parties have cosponsored a resolution that condemns the dog meat festival and calls for an end to the Chinese dog meat trade.

The Yulin city government no longer supports the event and Chinese officials have condemned it, but have said it cannot stop it since it’s organized by private businesses.

Michael Fricchione, a spokesman for the Suffolk, New York, chapter of the SPCA says that's not enough.
"The whole purpose of government is to regulate behavior," Fricchione said. "If they can't do that, maybe they should rethink what government is."

While the tradition of consuming dog meat in China dates back roughly 500 years, it’s no longer a part of mainstream culinary practice there.

The Yulin festival began in 2009 to boost the dog meat industry in China.

“The words and images out of Yulin brought a shock to me as someone who has spent years with animal rights,” said Jean Shafiroff of the Southampton Animal Shelter in New York.

Shafiroff and her daughter work with the nonprofit Global Strays, which aims to protect stray animals in developing countries.

The resolution was referred to the Foreign Affairs Committee.