Yulin, China City Kicks Off Summer With Dog Meat Festival

The annual dog meat festival in Yulin, China is an ancient tradition for local residents to celebrate the summer solstice. An estimated 10,000 dogs were killed for the festival, despite efforts of animal activists to buy as many dogs as they could on the open market.

Warning: The above video, from a recent CNN report, is super sad for dog lovers. There is graphic imagery of cooked dogs, whose faces remain expressive even in death. One woman working in a stall defends the festival as she hacks into a dog carcass while her own pet dog sits curled up at her feet.

While supporters of the festival criticize any scrutiny of eating dog meat as being hypocritical (“Don’t you eat beef?” was a main argument), local animal activists insist that the dog meat 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.”