2019 Lychee and Dog Meat Festival have begun in Yulin, China amongst harsh criticisms and condemnation from people around the world. The 10-day festival is marked from June 21 to June 30, 2019. During the annual event, thousands of dogs and cats are killed and eaten each year. Around 15,000 dogs are tortured to death for this festival. Meanwhile, a video of animals being mercilessly tortured and killed was also circulated widely on social media. One of the clips showed the animal being burned alive.  Dog meat is a delicacy in China and around £10m worth of dogs and £4m cats are sold for their meat annually. Every year the Yulin Dog Meat Festival garners criticisms from animal lovers and various organisations, but it continues to be celebrated. Around 1.5 million people have signed a petition demanding a ban on the cruel festival. Stop Eating Dog Meat! Vietnam’s Capital City Hanoi Tells Its Residents.

The Independent quoted Claire Bass, UK director of Humane Society International (HSI) as saying, "Yulin is one relatively small example of a much larger, uglier issue that thousands of dedicated Chinese activists are working to stop." According to Humane Society International (HSI), dogs and cats served at the festival are believed to snatched from streets. They are even slaughtered in public places. Spicy Dog Meat Soup: North Koreans Eat Dog Meat to Beat the Heat in Summer.

According to Chinese folk stories, eating meat during the months of summer bring good health and luck. Hence, people crowd at the event on June 21 every summer to the celebrated summer solstice. Cat meat, lychees and alcohol are also available at the event. Meanwhile, animals activists have managed to rescue 62 dogs from these slaughterhouses.

Talking about the festival, actress and national treasure Dame Judi Dench expressed her displeasure against the festival. She was quoted as saying, "It fills me with sadness to think that the Yulin Dog Meat Festival is just around the corner again. I cannot imagine the suffering of those poor dogs, and I hope very much that one day soon this cruel trade will end."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 22, 2019 11:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).