Want China Times, CNS and Staff Reporter 2014-06-21
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| One dealer threatens to strangle the dog if no one offers a better price. A woman instantly pays his price. (Photo/CFP) |
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| A dealer holds a dog up by the neck. He knows he is selling to animal lovers who will pay for its release. (Photo/CFP) |
On June 20,
the sun is scorching at noon. A couple stand in front of a dog meat restaurant,
plates in hand, protesting that eating dog is an atrocity. Most people just
walk by but some stop to argue with them about the legality of the practice.
Zhou, the husband, said he and his wife have come from another province and
hope to raise local awareness of the cruelty of eating dogs on such a massive
scale as the annual event.
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| This woman has paid US$56 to save the dog from being eaten. (photo/CFP) |
These are
two scenes and they are far from isolated. For weeks, animal lovers having been
carrying out actions such as intruding into slaughterhouses, protesting to the
government, buying dogs that were set aside for slaughter and playing prayers
for dogs with a loudspeaker in public. Perhaps the most melodramatic scene was
the man dressed as a monk accompanied by eight volunteers praying for the souls
of the dogs publicly in the local market on June 19.
Faced with
the rising controversy, the Yulin government has been trying to equivocate
between two groups equally convinced that right is on their side. It denies
that it organizes the festival, suggests its staff avoid eating dog meat
publicly, suggests restaurants remove the word dog from their signs, bans the
slaughter of dogs in public, bans restaurants without licenses and bans trucks
without licenses bringing in dogs from other provinces.
So many
suggestions and bans. Not intended to defeat the animal lovers but to trudge a
precarious middle path between the animal lovers and the local tradition.
As for the
restaurants, they do not mind removing the word dog, nor do they want to make a
fuss amid the countless threatening phone calls. Ning, the owner of a famous
local restaurant, said she even planned to change the staff's uniform in
exchange for peace. Her restaurant is legal and licensed; she pays more than
US$16,000 in tax every year but she prefers to keep low profile in the current
febrile atmosphere.
A staff
member at another restaurant expressed similar feelings. All he wants is to get
through this time of year safely. Asked what he thinks of the animal rights
activists, he says, "I'm fine with them as long as they don't come making
a scene in the restaurant."
At the
market at 11am a fierce battle rages between activists and the vendors selling dogs
to go in the restuarants' hot pots. Crowds had been gathering in the market
since the early morning. There were dog dealers, dog eaters, dog lovers,
reporters and rubberneckers, all with their own reason for being there.
Dog dealers
know how to distinguish dog lovers from dog eaters as they try to make a sale.
A dealer suddenly holds a dog in the air with an iron fork, then drops the
animal to the ground, repeating this act three times. A crowd gathers and
people began shouting angrily while offering prices.
As the
price swells, another dealer follow suit but this time threatens to strangle
his dog if no one offers a good price.
At the end
of the day, 60 dogs were ransomed in this way at a cost of US$16,000. The dog
lovers are pleased that these animals at least are not for the pot. The
rubberneckers are satisfied with the kerfuffle; the reporters' memory cards are
filled with photos; a dealer waves banknotes to a small group of cheering
people.
All are
happy — except for the many dogs still crammed in cages in the corner.
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