(Photo credit: Animals Asia, used under CC BY-NC 2.0)
Mr Peng Qinghua
Party Secretary
General Office of the People’s Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
No.2 Minsheng Rd
Nanning city
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
The People’s Republic of China
May 2016
__
Dear Party Secretary Peng Qinghua,
尊敬的彭清华书记,
We are writing on behalf of the Asia for Animals coalition, representing international organizations with extensive knowledge of animal welfare issues. We are deeply concerned about the pending event that features the mass consumption of dog meat in Yulin City on the 21st of June. This event, with or without local official endorsement, will surely arouse intense Chinese domestic and international opposition. Mass slaughter and consumption of dogs runs counter to the many positive recent changes on the Chinese mainland.
您好！
我谨代表亚洲动物联盟给您致函。亚洲动物联盟，是由共同致力于提高亚洲动物福利、具有丰富经验和专业知识的国际组织组成的。我们知道玉林有贩卖和屠宰狗供人食用的情况，特别是在6月21日即将出现大规模屠狗和食狗肉的活动，对此我们表示深切的关注。无论是否有当地政府的支持，此次活动又将导致成千上万犬只的苦难和棒杀，必将遭到国内外强烈的抨击，同时也损伤美丽中国生态文明的形象。
We urge you and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region government to take urgent action to prevent the event in recognition of the grave concerns for human health and safety, animal welfare, and the mental health of youth in Yulin and across the country that the festival poses, as outlined below.
如下所述，贩卖、棒杀和食用狗肉对于公众健康和安全、动物福利以及青少年的心理健康都具有严重的危害性，我们希望您和广西壮族自治区政府能够采取紧急措施，制止此类行为。
Human health and safety:
危害公众健康和安全
Customers hide their faces while eating dog meat at Yulin 2015 (photo credit: Animals Asia, used under CC BY-NC 2.0)
The festival encourages the uncontrolled movement and unregulated slaughter of many thousands of dogs, posing a significant human health risk through the potential transmission of animal borne diseases, notably rabies, and toxins:
狗肉贸易涉及到千万只狗的运输和屠宰，这些环节都缺乏政府的监管，因此潜在的动物源疾病和毒素——特别是狂犬病的传播，将对人类的健康构成严重的威胁。
- There is mounting evidence of the role the trade in dogs destined for human consumption plays in rabies transmission, as it encourages the mass movement of dogs of unknown disease and vaccination status to be transported long distances, often between provinces, increasing the risk of the spread of the disease plus infection to handlers who are at a high risk of being bitten and scratched. Such mass and unregulated movements of dogs is in contravention to recommendations and guidelines by leading human and animal health experts, and, given the national government’s policy on rabies prevention and control, it could be interpreted as operating in breach of existing laws and regulations, and be construed as negligence. Furthermore, the presence of rabies-positive dogs sourced and traded for human consumption has already been demonstrated by studies that have revealed a high positive incidence of rabies-infected dogs in restaurants, slaughterhouses, and markets in China.
有大量的证据表明，用于人类食用的狗肉贸易对于狂犬病的传播是负有责任的。因为，把大批携带各种病菌和免疫情况不详的犬只进行长途运输，尤其是跨省运输，会大大增加疾病的传播危险。而且，在运输过程中那些接触狗的人很可能被咬伤或抓伤，造成感染。在许多顶尖的人类和动物健康专家看来，这种大规模的、无序的犬只运输是会给人类与动物健康带来潜在危险的。而且，也不符合中国政府的狂犬病预防政策。长途运输未经检疫的犬只，甚至可以被视为违法行为和当地政府的失职行为。有研究证明中国的狗肉馆、屠宰场和市场上出售的狗有很高的狂犬病发病率。鉴于中国已经制定了消除狂犬病的国家计划，我们特此敦促广西政府出面干涉和制止玉林夏至日的大规模屠狗行为。
In view of China’s national plan to eliminate rabies by 2025, Guangxi’s rabies numbers, and the threat of Yulin’s mass dog consumption to sabotage this national goal, we urge Guangxi authorities to intervene and stop mass dog slaughter in Yulin.
- In addition, sick and diseased dogs are routinely slaughtered and sold for meat, as well as those who have been killed in a way that poses a grave, and potentially fatal, risk to consumers. We have read of evidence of sick and dying dogs arriving, and being sold, in Yulin. There are also mounting concerns regarding the sale of meat from poisoned dogs. In recent years, convictions of traders for selling poisonous dog meat have been widely reported. Poisons routinely used by unscrupulous traders, such as succinylcholine chloride, are highly toxic and experts have confirmed that humans can be poisoned by eating large amounts of this contaminated meat.
此外，病狗和那些来路不明的、有可能携带致命危险病菌的狗都会被屠宰和售出。我们看到过一些病狗和死狗被运到玉林而且被卖出的证据。被毒死的狗狗肉销售问题也很令人关注。近年来媒体大量报道了浙江、湖南等省对出售有毒狗肉的人判刑的事件。有专家证实，不择手段的狗肉贩子经常使用的琥珀酰氯化胆碱等药物毒性很强的化学物质偷狗卖狗肉，缺乏管理的玉林狗肉市场是威胁健康的隐患。
- In addition, with inadequate waste disposal systems in place to manage the intensive mass slaughter of dogs, the streets of Yulin flow with blood, faeces and other animal waste, presenting a serious risk to public health.
此外，玉林市的垃圾处理能力无法应对集中的大批量杀狗，杀狗产生的血污、粪便和其他的动物废弃物很可能从屠宰场流到玉林的街头，对公众健康构成极大的威胁。
Public safety:
危害社会治安和稳定
The theft of dogs by criminal gangs to supply the demand for dog meat is an ever-growing problem in China. The attacks on dog thieves indicate the potentially explosive nature of confrontations between dog owners and the dog meat industry, and demonstrate the societal cost of this cruel and illegal trade. By allowing the dog meat festival to continue, dog theft will go on and this could threaten social stability, aggravate existing social conflicts, and undermine the authority of the government and the credibility of state laws.
由于饲养狗难度大，费用高，犯罪团伙为了满足对狗肉的需求而偷盗犬只已经成为日益严重的治安问题。偷窃家养犬只贩卖侵犯了养狗公民的利益，违反宪法，实属盗窃私有财产犯罪。纵容偷狗卖狗肉的行为推动社会冲突，，体现出这种残忍而且非法的生意背后高昂的社会成本。如果对狗肉贸易和“狗肉节”不加以遏制，偷狗行为就会继续存在，从而对社会稳定构成威胁，加剧现有的社会矛盾，破坏政府的威信和国家法律的公信度。
Animal suffering and societal impacts:
动物的痛苦和社会影响
Dogs with collars, showing them to be stolen pets, awaiting slaughter (photo credit: Guangyuan Bo’ai Animal Protection Center, via Animals Asia, used under CC BY-NC 2.0)
The unregulated transport, handling and slaughter of thousands of dogs will cause immense suffering. At previous festivals, eyewitnesses, local investigators and the media have reported crude and brutal forms of handling and slaughter, including bludgeoning and live-skinning, often in public view.
无序运输、搬运和屠宰都给犬只造成巨大的痛苦。在前几年的狗肉节上，现场目击者、当地的调查人员和媒体记者都报道过搬运和屠宰中的残忍方式，包括棒打、活剥皮等等，而且都是在众目睽睽之下发生的。
Whilst some defend the event as a local “folk custom”, the reality is that, regardless of its origin, it is profit-driven and undermines the national and public interest and safety, and promotes the illegal sourcing and trading of dogs, posing a serious risk to human health, public safety, societal stability, and animal welfare.
虽然有人声称在夏至那天大量食用狗肉是当地的“习俗”，但事实上，不论这个活动是怎么来的，它都是以利益为驱动的。偷毒犬只进行非法贩卖，对人类健康、公共安全、社会稳定和动物福利都构成严重的威胁。
More people in China are keeping dogs as companions and family members. Yulin’s mass dog slaughter and mass dog consumption runs counter to this new development. The dog meat festival, besides angering the nation’s animal lovers, can also promote violence to nonhuman animals with its public display of dog carcasses and slaughter of dogs in the city’s residential neighborhoods. Slaughtering companion animals can inflict life-long and irreparable mental damage to the younger generation upon which the bloody scene is imposed.
中国有越来越多的人把狗视为伴侣动物，养狗日益普遍。但玉林大规模屠杀和食用狗的行为，是对这个社会群体之情感的公然挑衅。
Furthermore, the annual mass dog consumption event in Yulin risks damaging the reputation of Guangxi. For example, in June 2015, Yulin became once again the focus of domestic and international condemnation.
玉林每年聚众屠狗食狗活动，对于广西壮族自治区的名声也有害无利。比如在2015年6月，玉林再次成为国内外谴责的焦点，而今年国内外媒体已经出现了大量的相关报道和指责。
As international animal protection organizations that have always welcomed and supported animal welfare progress in China, on behalf of our members globally we respectfully urge the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region government to take immediate action to prohibit this event in the interest of public health, disease prevention, youth mental health, and the reputation of Guangxi and China.
作为国际动物保护组织，我们一贯对动物福利在中国的发展和进步表示欢迎和支持。在此，我们代表该联盟在世界各地的数百万成员，诚恳要求广西壮族自治区政府，为了公共健康、动物福利、疾病预防、社会稳定和中国与广西的声誉，立即采取措施禁止狗肉贸易。
__
Sent on behalf of the following organizations:
代表以下组织
- Animal Guardians 动物守护者
- Animal People 动物公民
- Animals Asia Foundation 亚洲动物基金
- ACRES 动物关注研究和教育社团
- Blue Cross of India 印度蓝十字会
- Change for Animals Foundation 为动物改变基金会
- Earth Island Institute 地球岛屿协会
- Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations 印度动物保护组织联盟
- Humane Society International 美国国际人道对待动物协会
- International Animal Rescue 国际动物援救
- International Fund for Animal Welfare 国际爱护动物基金会
- Philippine Animal Welfare Society 菲律宾动物福利协会
- Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 英国皇家防止虐待动物协会
- Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Hong Kong 香港爱护动物协会
- Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Sarawak 沙捞越防止虐待动物协会
- World Animal Protection 世界动物保护协会
Copied to:
请抄送
Mr Wang Yi 王毅
Minister of Foreign Affairs 中华人民共和国外交部
No. 2, Chaoyangmen Nandajie 朝阳门南大街2号
Chaoyang District 朝阳区
Beijing 北京
100701
P.R. China
Mr Han Changfu 韩长赋
Minister of Agriculture 中华人民共和国农业部
No.11 Nongzhanguan Nanli 农展馆南里11号
Chaoyang District 朝阳区
Beijing, China 北京，中国
100125
P.R. China
Mrs Li Bing 李斌
Minister of Public Health and Family Planning 中华人民共和国国家卫生和计划生育委员会
No 1 Xizhimen Outer South Road 西直门外南路1号
Xicheng District 西城区
Beijing 北京
100044
P.R. China
Mr Bi Jingquan 毕井泉
Minister of the China Food and Drug Administrtaion 国家食品药品监督管理总局
26 Xuanwumen Xidajie 西城区宣武门西大街26号院2号楼
Beijing 北京
100053
P.R. China
