中國動保人士抵制玉林狗肉節

A notorious dog meat festival in southwest China has sparked an outcry among the nation’s growing ranks of pet lovers, who say the event has spurred an illicit trade in stolen pets.

在中國南方聲名狼藉的狗肉節，引發了正不斷增多的寵物愛好者的公開抗議。這些寵物愛好者表示，狗肉節活動刺激了被竊寵物的非法貿易。

Dog meat is a popular winter food in parts of China and Korea, where the rich meat is believed to help keep people warm. But the Yulin Dog Meat Festival, which will be held this weekend in Guangxi near the border with Vietnam, has caused domestic and international outrage, with opponents saying many of the animals are cruelly treated and illegally obtained.

在中國和韓國部分地區，狗肉是一種很受歡迎的冬季食品，其豐富的肉質被視有助於保暖。然而，將於本週末舉辦的玉林狗肉節(Yulin Dog Meat Festival)，已經引起了中國國內甚至國際上的憤慨。該活動將在毗鄰越南的中國廣西自治區舉辦。反對者表示，在該活動中許多動物遭到了殘酷對待，它們的獲取途徑也是非法的。

The festival has for several years been galvanising China’s animal rights movement, which has arisen as the number of prosperous middle-class pet owners has grown. Many activists plan to travel to Yulin to protest against the festival, where an estimated 2,000 dogs a day are slaughtered.

在中國擁有寵物的中產階級人數不斷壯大之際，中國的動物保護組織也隨之崛起。多年來玉林狗肉節的舉辦，令這些組織深感震驚。許多動保人士計劃趕赴廣西玉林，抗議這一狗肉節活動，預計狗肉節的日屠狗數量達2000條。

Originally a summer solstice celebration, the local government began promoting the event as a dog meat festival in 2009. The Yulin government began to distance itself last year amid an outpouring of online criticism.

玉林狗肉節最初只是夏至的慶祝活動。2009年，當地政府開始以狗肉節的品牌宣傳這一活動。去年，由於網上出現的大量批評聲，玉林政府開始放棄自己原本的宣傳定位。

“Average people are not aware of the cruelty that dogs experience in the process of dog meat production. If they knew, they wouldn’t be saying this is simply a question of whether you love dogs or not,” said Zhang Yuanyuan, a volunteer who plans to travel to Yulin from Shenzhen in an attempt to persuade often-hostile locals to ditch the practice.

計劃趕赴玉林的志願者張媛媛(Zhang Yuanyuan，音譯)表示：“普通人不知道狗肉生產過程中，狗所經歷的殘酷對待。如果他們知道，他們不會說這只是你愛不愛狗的問題。”張媛媛計劃從深圳趕赴玉林，試圖勸說當地人放棄這一行爲。不過，當地人對他們往往充滿敵意。

A four-year study by Hong Kong-based group Animals Asia documented networks of dog traders that bring strays or stolen pets to northeast, central and southern China, especially during the winter months when dog meat is popular. The investigation found that stolen or stray dogs were so cheap that breeding dogs for meat was unprofitable.

總部駐香港的亞洲動物基金(Animals Asia)開展了一項爲期四年的研究，對狗肉交易商組成的網絡做了記載。這些狗肉交易商將走失或失竊的寵物運往中國的東北、華中和華南——特別是在狗肉受歡迎的冬季。該調查發現，被竊或走失的狗太過廉價，致使飼養肉狗變得無利可圖。

A survey conducted by Animals Asia in rural areas found that 70 per cent of Chinese villagers had lost at least one dog to thieves.

該組織在中國農村地區開展的調查發現，70%的村民丟失過至少一條狗。

“A lot of the animals that we see in these trucks are in such horrendous condition that by the time they get to the ultimate trade markets a lot of them have died,” said Mary Peng, whose veterinary business in Beijing has treated dogs rescued from trucks bound for slaughterhouses.

Mary Peng在北京擁有多家獸醫店，曾治療過從前往屠宰場的卡車中救出的小狗。她說：“我們在這些卡車上看到的許多動物，都處於極其可怕的生存狀態，導致它們中的許多在抵達最終交易市場時已經死去。”

Some of the activists travelling to Yulin may unwittingly be encouraging the trade in dogs by paying to rescue them from dog dealers. Last year saw ugly scenes of dealers in Yulin mistreating dogs in front of crowds of tourists and activists to spur them into buying the injured animals.

部分前往玉林的動保人士，可能會由於掏錢從狗販手中救下小狗，無意中鼓勵了販狗活動。去年，玉林曾出現過狗販在遊客和動保人士面前虐狗，以刺激他們買下受傷小狗的醜陋場景。

The practice of buying the dogs has split the Chinese animal rights community, with many believing it is counter-productive. “I am completely opposed to this,” said Ms Zhang, arguing that it simply adds to the market for dogs. “You can’t just look at how many dogs are being eaten but also the violent capture and transport of these dogs.”

買下小狗的行爲也在中國的動物保護界產生了分歧，許多人認爲這麼做會產生反作用。張媛媛聲稱，這麼做只會擴大販狗市場的規模。她說：“我完全反對這麼做。你不能只關注人們吃了多少狗，還要關注對這些狗的暴力捕獲和運輸過程。”