Activists attempt to stop ‘trucks from hell’ carrying live dogs ahead of Yulin Lychee and Dog Meat Festival

Activists in China have attempted to throw a spanner in the works ahead of this year’s controversial Yulin Lychee and Dog Meat Festival. WARNING: Graphic

Activists in China have attempted to throw a spanner in the works ahead of this year’s Yulin Lychee and Dog Meat Festival, which has continued to anger global animal rights advocates 10 years after its opening.

The festival, which is traditionally held on June 21 every year to mark summer solstice in southwest China, sees tens of thousands of dogs killed and sold as meat to exotic restaurants.

According to reports, animals are forced to watch on as others are beaten to death and thrown in de-hairing machines before meeting their own gruesome fate.

At one point, Yulin had one of the highest incidences of rabies in the world, with 338 people contracting and dying from the disease between 2002 and 2006.

While the horrific scenes of skinned canines and caged pups paint a barbaric view of the region, Peter Li from Humane Society International believes there is a culture shift happening, with younger generations more reluctant to the “appalling” food festival.

“There is a very vocal opposition to the dog meat trade within China, and that includes what goes on at Yulin,” Peter Li, Humane Society International‘s China policy expert, told the publication Newsweek.

“Most people don’t want anything to do with the cruelty, and there is a new young affluent generation of Chinese who care deeply about their pets and are appalled by the dog thieves.”

“There have been many appeals over the years for the authorities to introduce a ban, and this is certainly supported and boosted by support from the West,” Li said.

“But it‘s really important to recognise the enormous energy for change that exists within China. There are hundreds of dedicated animal activists who intercept dog and cat trucks on the highway, call in the police to confiscate the animals, and care for them once rescued.”

People eat dog meat at a restaurant in Yulin, in China's southern Guangxi region.

Julia De Cadenet, CEO of London charity NoToDogMeat, said local activists have attempted to stop “trucks from hell” carrying live dogs ahead of this year’s festival. In 2021, animal rights groups uncovered a “giant slaughterhouse” for killing dogs.

“We are so shocked and disappointed that it looks like so many dogs are being transported to Yulin, it is devastating news,” she said ahead of the festival.

“No one was expecting such a big truck, and so many dogs, it‘s like they want it to be bigger than ever.

“Last year our campaigners on the ground uncovered a giant slaughter house which was in breach of the rules, so it is clear that these butchers will stop at nothing to have their fun.”

A dog truck with 2000 dogs on temporarily detained by police. According to an activist the truck was on its way to Yulin.

No Dogs Left Behind, another animal rights group focusing on China’s dog meat trade, runs a shelter in China’s capital and uses drones and other methods to track meat sellers and rescue the dogs.

In 2020, the group organised a rescue mission to send dozens of dogs bound for slaughter to new owners in the US.

“Thirty-four survivors have landed from the brutality of China’s illegal dog trafficking,” Jeff Bari, who leads No Dogs Left Behind, said at the time.

Local activists have attempted to stop ‘trucks from hell’ carrying live dogs ahead of this year’s festival

Canine corpses are prepared in bloody, unsanitary conditions. Picture: Humane Society International

Bari said that his organisation engages in “the good fight” and that “global animal welfare laws are in order, and until that happens, we will continue to fight, we will sanction and we will boycott until change happens.”

No Dogs Left Behind has also targeted illegal traffickers and breeders in China and threatened to report them to authorities who can impose heavy fines if they do not give up the dogs.

The organisation has rescued thousands of dogs since 2017 and is working to save up to 135 dogs from China by early next year.

Outrage over the Yulin Dog Meat Festival continues to grow among animal rights activists around the world.