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."
Anushka
Sharma's
Instagram
Story
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.
Kartik
Aaryan's
Instagram
Story
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."
Activists
Hope
2020
Is
The
Last
Year
O
fDog
Meat
Festival
In
Yulin
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.