LOCAL residents are planning a demonstration to protest the annual dog meat festival in China. The Lychee and Dog Meat Festival in Yulin in Southern China has received widespread international opposition and a petition to ban the festival has already attracted more than 11 million signatures.
Judy van der Westhuizen, who runs an animal rescue NPO called Khetani Animal Rescue is planning on holding a demonstration outside the Chinese Embassy on Stirling Crescent on Saturday, 13 May.
According to Van der Westhuizen, about 10 000 dogs and cats are expected to be killed during the 10-day festival which begins in June.
“I learned about the cruel festival through social media and I was just horrified by what I saw. Dogs are kept in tiny cages where they can’t even move; they are stacked on top of one another and often relieve themselves in the cages which lands on top of the other dogs. The dogs and cats aren’t just killed, they are tortured in various ways, their eyes are gouged out or limbs cut off in a way for the brain to release adrenaline which people eating the dog meat believe they are then imbued with power and potency, it’s barbaric,” she said.
While the local resident has approached Metro Police and Durban North SAPS regarding her intentions, van der Westhuizen has also submitted her plans to the Chinese Embassy who are yet to give their permission for the protest to go-ahead.
“It breaks my heart seeing this go on every year. I’m disappointed in the human race. We can’t sit back and allow this to happen. Ultimately we want to challenge other countries to try and stop the festival from going on. It just doesn’t make sense. If we aren’t given permission to demonstrate outside the embassy then we will find another area to go to,” she said.
For more information on the demonstration, visit the Khetani Animal Rescue Facebook page.
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