

A recent poll has found that the majority of respondents want an end to the controversial festival held in southern China.

According to Xinhua, 64 percent of those asked, aged between 16 to 50, said that they would support a permanent end to the infamous annual event which has been the subject of much international attention in recent years.

Many of those taking part in the poll said they believed that it had “harmed China’s reputation” overseas. 51.7 percent of the respondents, including Yulin residents, wanted the dog meat trade banned completely. 69.5 percent claimed to have never eaten dog meat.



“The poll shows most people here don’t eat dogs,” said Qin Xiaona, director of the Capital Animal Welfare Association charity.

The festival, which was launched by local businesses in 2009 in a bid to drum up tourism, will this year see an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 animals slaughtered. It will take place on June 20 to mark the astronomical midsummer.

The dogs are trucked into Yulin from hundreds of miles away, stuffed in crates without food or water. Slaughter often takes place in public, right in front dogs awaiting the same fate. Vendors usually use a club to do the deed, believing that the meat is tastier when full of adrenaline.



This year an unprecedented 11 million people have already signed a petition, calling for an end to the festival, which was delivered to the Yulin government office in Beijing.

Officals in Yulin have also told residents not to slaughter any animals in the street this year after being convinced on grounds of food safety.

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