愛狗人士呼籲禁止廣西玉林狗肉節

Animal rights activists are calling for the end to an annual dog meat festival in South China blamed for tarnishing the country's reputation internationally.

近日，動物權益維護者呼籲結束中國南方一年一度的狗肉節，並表示其有損我國的國際聲譽。

The Litchi and Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, is usually held in June, but has met increased opposition in recent years amid concerns over canine cruelty and unhygienic food handling practices.

通常在廣西壯族自治區六月舉行的玉林荔枝狗肉節，因其對犬類殘忍和不衛生的食品處理措施，而在近年來越來越遭到反對。

Activists say that they will continue to press for the festival to be banned and for legislation outlawing the slaughtering of dogs and cats for meat in China to be outlawed.

維護人士表示，他們將繼續爲禁止這一節日而施壓，促成立法，禁止在中國非法屠宰貓狗並做成食用肉。

"The Yulin authorities need to adopt more proactive and decisive steps to crack down on an industry that kills dogs acquired illegally and sells their meat in breach of the state's food safety regulations," said Qin Xiaona, founder and director of Capital Animal Welfare Association.

資本動物福利協會創建者和負責人秦曉娜說：“玉林政府需要採取更積極和果斷的措施，來打擊這個非法收購和屠宰狗只、並違反國家食品安全法規行業。”

According to Humane Society International, around 10-20 million dogs are killed every year across China for human consumption, predominantly in the south and northeast. Qin claims that more than 80 percent of these are stolen pets, according to her association's research.

據國際人道協會的數據顯示，中國每年約有一、兩千萬隻狗用於人類消費而被屠宰，這主要發生在中國南部和東北部。據其協會的研究表明，秦曉娜聲稱這些寵物中有超過80%是被偷走的寵物。

Peter Li, China policy specialist of Humane Society International, said the Yulin festival has reduced in size in recent years as the authorities in Yulin are under pressure from both domestic and international protest. "The peak of dog slaughter was in 2012 or 2013 when more than 10,000 dogs were killed in three days. The number dropped to 2,000 in 2015," said Li.

國際人道協會的中國政策專家李堅強表示，隨着玉林政府在國內和國際的抗議活動的壓力下，玉林狗肉節的規模已經縮小了。“2012年至2013年是犬隻屠殺的高峯，每三天就有超過1萬隻狗被殺死。2015年該數字下降到了2000只，”李堅強說。