THE man behind a petition calling on Newport City Council to cut ties with a Chinese province until the Yulin Dog Festival is banned says he will present it to the council to consider once it reaches 20,000 signatures.

(Warning: Graphic image in article)

Matthew James, a 24-year-old marketing graduate from Caerleon, Newport, set up the petition a year ago after finding out Newport City council had a twinning arrangement with Guangxi province, home of the Yulin Dog Festival, an annual 10 day event where more than 10,000 dogs are eaten.

The festival, which has been held in the city of Yulin since 2009, runs from June 21-30 every year, and never fails to draw criticism, both internationally and from within China.

Animal rights activists have reported dogs are slaughtered and skinned inhumanely in public places during the festival, and concerns have been raised over pets being stolen for the festival.

Mr James’ petition has now been signed by almost 18,000 people, with roughly 1,500 having signed since the Argus first reported on it on Thursday, September 6.

“To be honest, I did it on a bit of a whim really,” explained Mr James.

(Yulin Dog Festival. Credit: Change.org)

“You always see the stories about the dog festival on the internet, an last year I did a bit of research and found out that it was happening in a province called Guangxi.

“The name rang a bell, and that’s when I found out it was because the province is twinned with Newport.

“I was really disappointed. The Yulin Dog Festival has no place in modern society. To find out that Newport was twinned with the province in which it takes place just felt wrong.

“I had no idea this many people would sign it. I thought maybe a couple of hundred, but I’m delighted it’s taken off the way it has.”

Newport City Council have responded by saying they would consider the petition when it was presented to them, and Mr James has confirmed he will move forward once 20,000 people have signed it.

READ MORE: Thousands sign petition to end Newport's relationship with the province that hosts the Yulin Dog Festival

“I will consider taking it to the council going forward, because a lot of people in Newport clearly have strong feelings about it,” he said.

“When it gets to 20,000, I think that will be a strong position to approach the council from. I’ve been checking the page since setting it up and it’s been growing steadily.

“This is the first time I’ve become involved with any activism, and it was definitely a case of testing the water.

I”’ve always been in interested in how social media and the media in general can influence politics and political decisions.

“I feel very strongly about this issue, and I decided to put it to the test. It’s a year in and this is the first time it’s been picked up by any media, but there’s clearly a strong base of support for the idea.”

Unlike the festival, the custom of dog eating in China can be traced back at least 400 years, and the act itself is not illegal in the country.

Reports suggest around 10 to 20 million are killed to be eaten by humans every year. But changing attitudes around pet ownership in China’s growing middle class have seen in-country demands for the festival to end, with Chinese activists and celebrities taking to social media to oppose it.

Though twinned with the the Chinese province, actual city contact with Guangxi is sparse. Representatives from Newport City Council last visited China in 1999, and a Chinese delegation visited Newport in 2004 for the National Eisteddfod held in the grounds of Tredegar House.

The RSPCA’s head of international, Paul Littlefair, said: “We strongly object to the annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival, in China, and to similar events which take place elsewhere.”

The petition can be found here.