In spite of the ongoing pandemic and government's drive to discourage consumption of wildlife and pet animals for meat, Yulin's controversial dog meat festival has been organised once again. The annual festival takes place in the southwestern city of Yulin and attracts thousands for visitors for 10 days. As the report of the festival hit the internet, Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma took to her Instagram and reacted to the news.
She shared a screengrab of a news article and captioned the Instagram story as, "What will it take for them to learn?!" Kartik Aaryan also took to his Instagram account and spoke up against the festival. He shared a post in which he can be seen playing with two dogs and the caption read, "Har saal Dil Todte hain yeh Yulin Festival waale 💔 #YulinKMKB #StopYulin". Later he also shared the same picture on Instagram stories and wrote, "Stop Yulin Dog Meat Festival. #YulinKMKB." While many have called out the organizers on social media, activists are hoping 2020 will be the last year when the festival takes place in China. Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the government is considering new laws to halt the trade and assure the protection of the pet animals. Since COVID-19 is believed to have been originated in horseshoe bats before transmitting it to the humans, China is reassessing its relationship with wildlife trade and consumption. The agriculture ministry has also decided to classify dogs as pets and not livestock. Zhang Qianqian, an animal rights activist said, "From what we understand from our conversations with meat sellers, leaders have said the consumption of dog meat won't be allowed in future, but banning dog meat consumption is going to be hard and will take some time." In late February, a ban was imposed on the sale and consumption of wild animals, such as bats and snakes. Shenzhen became the first city in Mainland China to ban the consumption of dogs back in April. The festival's popularity has dropped and activists hope other cities will soon follow suit.Anushka Sharma's Instagram Story
Kartik Aaryan's Instagram Story
Activists Hope 2020 Is The Last Year O fDog Meat Festival In Yulin