Local people across China’s Guangxi province, the home of Yulin city, have been empowered to save cats and dogs in their communities from meat market cruelty.

While Guangxi province in China has become notorious for dog meat eating in Yulin city during the summer solstice, in reality, dog meat cruelty continues year round all over the province. 

Yet, dog meat eating is also a minority activity and there are many animal lovers in Guangxi who are appalled by the extreme cruelty and illegality which is inseparable from the trade.

Over the last six months, Animals Asia has empowered these compassionate people to make lasting change in their communities by upgrading cat and dog rescue shelters ready to protect vulnerable animals, including those who could fall prey to the meat trade.

To date, 12 shelters have been upgraded thanks to Animals Asia support.

Animals Asia’s Cat and Dog Welfare Director Irene Feng said:

“These shelters not only give direct help to cats and dogs in need, they are also beacons in their community spreading the message: animal lives matter; cruelty and suffering is never acceptable; and we all have the responsibility and the power to create change.”

Support provided to the groups, which are based in Nanning, Guilin, Wuzhou and Hechi, enabled shelters to be refurbished, renewed and for new equipment to be installed.

As a result, all the shelters are better able to provide shelter, healthcare and rehoming to animals in crisis.

Ms Zhu Ping from Hechi Home and Love Small Animal Protection Center in Hechi city said:

“This support has been an absolute life-line for our shelter. Every day we see cats and dogs in our community who need our help and are at risk of ending up in the meat trade. Now we have the ability to give them the care they so desperately need. We can show everyone in our community that there is hope for a better future for our cats and dogs.”

In addition to the new shelters, Animals Asia also trained groups across the province to carry out trap, neuter, return (TNR) programmes to humanely control stray cat populations.

The two-day workshop in Nanning in November 2018, carried out by Beijing Lucky Cat, equipped over 40 staff from eight charities with the theory and practical skills they need to carry out programmes in their communities. 

Following the training, Animals Asia provided financial support to nine local groups for their TNR programmes enabling them to reduce human-animal conflict, the number of animals falling victim to the meat trade and the likelihood of inhumane culls.

Animals Asia Founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE said:

“The cat and dog meat trade continues all year round in China so that is where we aim to work 365 days a year, all over the country.

“There are so many people in China who desperately want to help cats and dogs in their communities. They just need the knowledge, skills and funding to get started.

“With our help they can build the compassionate communities they want to live in and create a more humane society for cats and dogs.”

READ MORE: The truth about the Yulin dog meat festival – and how to stop it

Animals Asia is at the heart of a national movement against dog meat cruelty in China having provided support to over 150 animal welfare charities, around 60% of the country’s total. 

The charity has also engaged government officials in every single province in the country advising them on co-operation with local groups, and humane stray population management.

Media reports suggest up to 10 million dogs are inhumanely slaughtered for their meat annually in China, while Animals Asia investigations have revealed that the majority of dogs are stolen rather than farmed.

You can help end the dog meat trade in China. Stand shoulder to shoulder with the brave Chinese activists on the frontline, fighting the dog and cat meat trade, every single day. 

Together we can end this cruelty. Sign the petition.

Animals Asia’s Cat and Dog Welfare work in Guangxi province is carried out by Ya Dong Consulting, a consultancy enterprise wholly owned and advised by Animals Asia.

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