(Image source from: Is Yulin's dog-eating festival cruellest in the world?})

Someone has rightly said: "It's a dog eat dog world!"

Kicking off their annual summer solstice celebrations in advance amid howling protests by animal rights activists, people of Yulin are bringing on the astronomical event with its traditional dog-eating festival, ahead of the actual solstice, this year.

A yearly tradition in Yulin in Guangxi Zhuang region in China, this annual celebration, hosted in June 21 each year, involves cruel slaughter and mass consumption of about10,000 dogs. The local lore has it that eating dog meat on this inaugural day of summer brings health and luck. As such, the Chinese folks feast on dog meat, lychees and liquor to honor the event.

Despite public uproar, rampant protests on social media and online petition against the practice, Yulin locals kickstarted their celebrations a week in advance to avoid activists and journalists and mitigate controversy.

Local media showed groups of Yulin city residents tucking into plates of meat and vegetables around dining tables strewn with lychees. Other photos, which circulated widely on Chinese microblogs, were of skinned, cooked dogs hanging from hooks at street stalls or piled on tables.

Animal rights activists deem the event as a public health risk because most stray dogs are often un- quarantined and are picked off country streets or stolen from pet owners. The dogs are then poisoned with toxic chemicals that could be harmful to humans.

The Yulin government has distanced itself from the controversy claiming that they do not officially endorse the feasting. Rather it's a culinary habit practiced only by some businesses and people. The government has ordered the restaurants to remove references of dog meat from their menus and signboards, although it has not banned the sale and consumption of dog meat, which is not illegal in China.

Furthermore, Yulin authorities have vowed to tighten sanitation inspections and crack down on dog slaughtering in public.

While all attempts and outcry to end the ancient dog-eating tradition have been largely unsuccessful, imposing regulations on the way the dogs are acquired and sold might help.

AW: Suchorita Choudhury