Despite international criticism and widespread outrage on social networking sites, the annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival is currently underway in Southern China. Activists have filmed a video that shows live dogs on sale for the meat eating festival. Members of the Humane Society International went around a crowded market where traders openly sold dogs, many still wearing collars. The group has been opposing the event, along with other animal rights activists, on grounds of cruelty and public health. As many as 10,000 dogs, many of them stolen pets, are slaughtered for the occasion held deep in the largely rural and poor Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Under the Yulin tradition, eating dog and lychee and drinking liquor on the solstice is supposed to make people stay healthy during winter.
