For the first time, China classifies cats and dogs as pets, now the final go-ahead has arrived a few days before the Yulin festival
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
It's official. For the first time in history, China is classifying cats and dogs as pets. We had been waiting for months but now the final ok has arrived and we are moving towards the farewell to the Yulin Festival. But there is an obscure point that could allow you to circumvent the law by still allowing you to eat its meat.
The Ministry of Agriculture just updated the National Catalog of Livestock and Poultry by eliminating cats and dogs from the list of edible animals, classifying them as pets instead.
The story actually began on April 8 with the introduction of the National Catalog of livestock project. Even then, for the first time, dogs and cats did not appear in the list of 31 animals classified as livestock and poultry but it was not a binding document but only a public consultation aimed at understanding the position of Chinese citizens on this issue. The consultation closed on May 8 and the new catalog was officially announced last Friday.
Dogs and cats for the first time removed from the list of edible animals in China. The days of the Yulin Festival are numbered
The list lists 17 traditional animal species - including cattle, pigs, poultry, rabbits and camels - and added 16 "special species" including reindeer, alpacas, pheasants, ostriches and foxes. Such species fall under the jurisdiction of the Animal Husbandry Act, which means it is legal to breed them for food, wool or fur.
The new regulation that also lists "special species" that can be raised for food or fur is part of the move to crack down on the wildlife trade after the coronavirus pandemic but has also served to reclassify dogs as pets rather than livestock. The measure came at a crucial moment, namely three weeks before Yulin Meat Festival.
“There is a long history of domestication of dogs, in the past they were used to protect homes, hunt and breed. They are now raised as pets, for search and rescue, to help the blind and have a closer bond with humans, "Chinese authorities explain. "The feeding habits of the Chinese are changing, even some traditional dog habits are changing."
However, the reclassification does not explicitly prohibit eating dogs or breeding them for meat, potentially putting the trade in a legal gray area. People who want to breed dogs for other purposes, such as working animals, will need to get permission from local authorities.
However, it is not clear how the rules of the ministry of agriculture will be applied. Furthermore, the lack of specific laws against violence against animals could trigger a new round of crime, with the theft and killing of dogs.
Humane Society International has estimated that around 10 million dogs are killed each year for the dog meat trade in China:
"This is now the perfect opportunity for cities across China to act according to the government's words by protecting cats and dogs from the thieves and slaughterhouses of the meat trade," said Wendy Higgins, spokesperson for the group.
According to a survey conducted by the Humane Society International in 2016, the majority of citizens in China do not eat dogs and around 64% are in favor of the abolition of the Yulin festival.
“Now that the Chinese government has officially recognized dogs as companions and not livestock, we hope that China will take stronger measures to hasten the end of the dog and cat meat trade that millions of animals continue to suffer from every year. The announcement offers cities across China the perfect opportunity to act according to the government's words by protecting cats and dogs from the thieves and slaughterhouses of the meat trade. In a matter of weeks, Yulin City's dog slaughterhouses will be filled with terrified dogs awaiting brutal massacres for its infamous party. Many of those dogs will be stolen from houses and streets before being transported to Yulin. It will be the very beloved companions and dogs indicated in the declaration of the national government as not intended for food. The Yulin festival is a bloody spectacle that does not reflect the mood or eating habits of the majority of the Chinese people and its continuation instills the sentiment expressed by the Ministry of Agriculture, ”said Dr. Peter Li, Chinese political specialist for animal protection at Humane Society International.
We hope that the innovations introduced by the Chinese government will put an end to this cruel festival.
Sources of reference: Humane Society International, Xinhuanet, SCMP, Ministry of Agriculture,
Read also:
- Dog meat: sales ban for the Yulin Festival
- Dog meat: 5 reasons to stop at the Yulin Festival
