Whilst the tradition of eating dog meat goes back thousands of years in China, the Yulin festival itself has only been running since 2009.
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The festival coincides with the summer solstice - one of the hottest weeks of the year. Some believe that eating dog meat at this time can bring good luck, ward off diseases and heighten male sexual performance.
Criticism
The festival has been heavily criticised both in China and overseas, with celebrity activists including Ricky Gervais and Harry Potter actress Evanna Lynch speaking out against the festival.
Whilst defenders of the festival claim that eating dog is no different to eating pork or beef, critics have slammed the cruel treatment that has been witnessed at the festival. It has been reported that the dogs are often tortured before being slaughtered because it is believed that fear and adrenaline make the meat taste better. It is also believed that many of the dogs butchered at the festival are in fact stolen pets.
Opposition to Yulin does not only come from overseas - a survey found that a majority of Chinese people are opposed to the festival. 62% of those surveyed believed that it was harmful to China's reputation and 69.5% claimed that they had never eaten dog meat.
Cats are victim too
Whilst the Yulin festival is most widely-known for butchering dogs, cats are also packed tightly into cages and taken to be slaughtered there. Many die on the way to the slaughterhouse, from shock, stress or dehydration as they are kept in horrific conditions.
Hope
The Yulin festival has shrunk in size in recent years, thanks to the work of activists. Whereas previously between 10,000 and 15,000 dogs were eaten during the festival, by 2015 this number had dropped to around 1,000.
There are also individuals who step in to rescue cats and dogs at the Yulin festival. Yiang Xiaoyun has spent thousands rescuing almosts 500 dogs as well as dozens of cats and kittens from the festival.
