When Animals Asia asked for assistance from Chinese designers in its campaign to end dog and cat meat eating it was inundated with over 400 incredible posters.

The entrants came from across China and now these emotive work of arts are set to tour public buildings throughout the country as well as being available online for animal lovers to share.

Animals Asia Cat and Dog Welfare Programme Director Irene Feng said:

“This is a China problem and these images could only have come from China. Internationally we associate campaigns to end cat dog meat eating with very in-your-face scenes of animal cruelty. Most of the pictures we have seen here deal instead with emotions. The emotions of the affected animals and their human companions who have lost members of their family due to dog thieves.

“They hit home because of the beauty of their design and their simple messages. They will be displayed as what they are - works of art - and in that way will reach millions more people. They have the power to go beyond the growing numbers of animal campaigners and reach new audiences who perhaps hadn’t previously considered the criminality or cruelty involved.”

The winning design came from Yang Mengyun a design student from Wuxi, Jiangsu. Yang explained she had been inspired by the stray dogs and cats she fed on campus.

She said:

“I hope one day when people see stray animals, they won’t think of eating or hurting them. So that the stray cats or dogs can play under the sun, relax and enjoy free lives.”

Her work is called “Brightness and Fear”.

Yang added:

“Brightness is good for humans. We don’t connect anything scary to brightness. But to stray animals it is not the same. Exposed by the sun or light means they can easily be spotted by dog or cat dealers, I guess they’d rather to be living in the darkness, where they can hide and be far away from bad people. It is very likely that cat and dog meat served in restaurants is from stolen domestic pets or stray animals. I hope everyone can realise what they are eating.”

Second place went to design student Nie Chonghao of Shandong University of Art & Design with “Companion”.

He explained:

“Cats and dogs should be our friends, to lose a friend because someone has eaten them is too sad. In my design, the paw prints beside the footprints not only represent companion animals like cats and dogs, but all the animals in the world.”

As part of their prize both Yang and Nie travelled to meet the moon bears at Animals Asia’s China Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu.

Joint third were Meng Xuan and Sheng Yuhan - both emphasised the sadness of dogs being stolen by the meat treat with Meng depicting both a grandmother and a baby with their companions.

Sheng too aimed to deliver the message that dogs are beloved family members. Once the dogs are stolen and eaten - families are never the same.

Sheng said:

“If you’re eating a dog then you’re eating a family member.”

Animals Asia research has shown that the suggestion that dogs are farmed is a myth. Most are snatched either from owners or as strays.

Earlier this year nearly nine million Chinese voted online for new legislation to end cat and dog meat eating.

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