PHOTOs: Chinese Dog Festival set to begin Tomorrow

Are you a lover of dog meat? Well it might just be the right time to travel to China as preparations are in full swing for the dog meat festival which is scheduled to be held in the southern city of Yulin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Local residents are waiting for the dogs to arrive, so they can get to work, while traders have their hands full, desperately trying to meet demand.

The first step of the festival has already gone underway: thousands of dogs are shipped from all over the country to Yulin. They are either stolen pets or strays, who traders argue nobody will miss, so why not cook them. The canines are rounded up and crammed in wired cages and left with no food and water and no room to breathe. The journey can take from a couple of hours to two or even three days. Some of the dogs do not survive this daunting experience.

Once the dogs arrive in Yulin, they are sold to restaurants or private cooks. To ensure the freshness of the meat, they are kept in small cages near the main roads, so customers eager to taste dog meat can hand pick the dogs they would like to have cooked.

Residents of Yulin are extremely happy to host the festival – which is celebrated on June 21st to mark the Summer Solstice – and claim they prepare the tastiest dog meat on the market.

There is a belief among some that the dog meat tastes better if the animal is slaughtered as and when distressed, and there are even accusations that the animals are sometimes skinned alive.

See other photos from previous celebrations: