A group of caring canines and their human supporters gathered in Chinatown Friday to rally in protest of the annual Chinese dog eating festival in Yulin that starts next week.
About 15 dogs paraded in front of the Wyndham Hotel on Bowery. Several were decked out in purple accessories — the color representing animal abuse awareness.
The 20 or so people who also joined in the protest wore purple as well.
Elizabeth Shafiroff, founder of Global Strays, said the rally was called in an effort to get the Chinese government to ban the annual dog slaughter.
“We don’t think the festival is going to stop this year but we want the Chinese government to be more involved in preventing dogs from being tortured all over,” she said.
Shafiroff said more than 10,000 dogs will be “tortured, boiled alive and eaten” over the course of the 10-day festival.
“We don’t believe torturing an animal for food is acceptable so we’re trying to bring awareness to this,” she said.
Shafiroff said her organization initially planned to travel to Yulin to protest the festival on-site.
But visa complications prevented them from going.
“We want to do something. New York City is one of the best cities in the world and people in the world look to New York City,” said Shafiroff, the proud owner of two rescue pit bulls.
“We are calling for a ban on dog meat in China.”
Paul Llobell, a captain with the Suffolk County SPCA, attended the protest. He said the Chinese tradition was not one likely to be replicated in the U.S.
“That’s not how we roll in our country. If they … bring that tradition to our country, they’ll be investigated and will go to jail,” he said.
Llobell, who owns two Labradors, said animal abuse remains a serious problem in the U.S.
“This Yulin type event would never happen here but there’s still work to do,” he said. “It’s like a drug epidemic, so we do the best we can with the resources we have.”
The Yulin festival has attracted controversy since it began in 2010.
Humane Society International said earlier this week it rescued 29 dogs and five cats from cages in Yulin ahead of its June 21 festival start date.
HSI submitted a petition to Yulin’s government last week calling for a ban on the dog meat trade. It had 11 million signatures.
Yulin only started its brutal festival a few years ago as a way to boost dog meat sales, animal rights advocates say.
