UPDATE (May 18, 2017 at 9.31pm CST): Some have raised doubts over the ban, with local government officers and vendors saying they haven't heard anything about it. Read more about that here.
Dog meat is set to be banned at this year's Yulin Festival, animal activists report.
Humane Society International and the Duo Duo Animal Welfare Project (DDAWP) announced in a May 17 press release that restaurants, street vendors and market traders will be prohibited from selling dog meat ahead of next month's festival, slated to begin on June 21.
The controversial festival is held in Guangxi Province each year as a means to celebrate summer solstice by serving up dog meat and strong lychee liquor. It is estimated that up to 10,000 animals are slaughtered for the annual event, and concerns over animal cruelty have caused local and international animal rights groups to intervene.
READ MORE: Man Bites Dog - The Controversial Yulin Dog Meat Festival
The ban is said to be initiated by Yulin's new Party Secretary, Mo Gong Ming, and will reportedly go into effect on June 15. Violators could face risk of arrest and fines of up to RMB100,000.
Humane Society President and CEO Wayne Pacelle welcomed the ban, but urged authorities to take even more action:
"While we recognize that this announcement is temporary, it is nonetheless an extraordinarily hopeful sign that Yulin will one day soon consign dog eating to the history books. HSI would like to urge the Yulin authorities to take additional steps: make this ban permanent; announce publicly that all inbound dog trucks would face a penalty if dogs and cats are shipped into the city illegally; enforce the country’s food safety laws strictly so that poisonous dog meat will not harm consumers; and build a government facility to accommodate dogs and cats confiscated from illegal shipping operations. In China, dogs butchered for the trade are stolen from their owners or gathered off the streets."
In a separate statement, Humane Society's China Policy specialist Peter Li said:
“The Yulin dog meat festival is not over just yet, but if this news is true as we hope, it is a really big nail in the coffin for a gruesome event that has come to symbolize China’s crime-fueled dog meat trade. Millions of dogs and cats are stolen each year, including pets, and driven thousands of miles across China to be bludgeoned to death in front of each other. As opposition to this trade has grown within China and across the world, much focus has been placed on the Yulin festival and so it is significant politically that the authorities are taking the outrage to curb this cruelty seriously."
Activists have long called for an end to the festival, with many notable Hollywood celebs teaming up last year to film a PSA speaking out against it. Singer Leona Lewis also released a song to inspire people to join the fight to end the abuse of dogs.
WATCH: Celebs Speak Out Against Yulin Dog Fest in PSA
The idea of putting an end to the festival has recently gained more traction in China. Last year, Beijing activists took the streets to protest the event, while Netease reported that a recent poll showed a majority of people supported banning it.
[Top image via People]
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