Experts: Dog meat festival 'illegal'

專(zhuān)家稱(chēng)：狗肉節(jié)“不合法”

Judicial experts and animal specialists have said an upcoming festival that serves dog meat in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region is illegal.

一些司法專(zhuān)家及動(dòng)物學(xué)者們聲稱(chēng)廣西壯族自治區(qū)即將到來(lái)的狗肉節(jié)是不合法的。

More than 40 specialists, including law professors, lawyers and animal rights activists, signed an agreement to shut down the festival on Friday, saying such a “tradition” will affect China's image overseas and should be banned.

40多個(gè)專(zhuān)家，包括法律專(zhuān)家、律師及動(dòng)物權(quán)利保護(hù)者簽署了一個(gè)協(xié)議聲明，要求取消在周五取消狗肉節(jié)，并聲稱(chēng)這樣的“傳統(tǒng)”會(huì)影響中國(guó)在海外的形象應(yīng)該被禁止。

The annual festival, slated for June 21 in Yulin, celebrates a local tradition of eating dog meat hotpot and lychees and drinking strong liquor on the summer solstice.

在玉林每年6月21日這一天人們會(huì)吃狗肉火鍋、吃荔枝、喝烈酒來(lái)慶祝夏至節(jié)。

But the festival has been shrouded in controversy since it was exposed on the Internet early this month. Some lawyers and animal rights associations even came to the city to investigate.

然而自從本月初這個(gè)節(jié)日被曝網(wǎng)上之后就飽受爭(zhēng)議。一些律師和動(dòng)物保護(hù)者協(xié)會(huì)就來(lái)到該市進(jìn)行調(diào)查。

Li Weimin, a lawyer from Weibo Law Firm, went to the city twice over the past two weeks and said he found that most of the dog meat that is to be served at the festival is from the black market.

李偉民（音譯），一名來(lái)自微博法律團(tuán)的律師，在過(guò)去的兩周內(nèi)去過(guò)玉林兩次，他發(fā)現(xiàn)狗肉節(jié)上的大部分狗肉都來(lái)源自黑市。

“I was told there are four major workshops that produce dog meat in the city. I visited them and found all of them had no business licenses or certificates,” Li said, adding he believed the meat made in such places was unhealthy.

“我被告知該城市有四大生產(chǎn)狗肉的作坊。我參觀了這些地方發(fā)現(xiàn)他們都沒(méi)有經(jīng)營(yíng)許可證，”李先生說(shuō)道，他補(bǔ)充道在這樣的地方加工的肉類(lèi)一定很不健康。

The decision to eat the dog meat depends on the individual but trades related to dog meat are illegal according to current Chinese laws, Li said.

李先生還說(shuō)道，是否決定吃狗肉都取決于個(gè)人，但是依據(jù)中國(guó)現(xiàn)行的法律來(lái)看有關(guān)狗肉的相關(guān)交易是非法的。

An Xiang, an animal rights lawyer in Beijing, said there are no dog farms or legal slaughter houses in China. The dogs for the festival are raised in households, abducted from the streets, or even poisoned, An said.

安翔（音譯），一名北京的動(dòng)物維權(quán)律師說(shuō)道，中國(guó)沒(méi)有肉狗養(yǎng)殖場(chǎng)或是合法的屠宰場(chǎng)。狗肉節(jié)上的狗肉來(lái)自家養(yǎng)、街上的狗還有的甚至是被毒死的。

The Ministry of Agriculture issued a quarantine regulation on dogs and cats last year, requiring laboratory quarantine for the animals before they are transported.

去年農(nóng)業(yè)局還發(fā)表過(guò)關(guān)于貓狗的安全檢疫監(jiān)管，要求動(dòng)物只有通過(guò)安全檢疫所的檢查才能允許運(yùn)輸。

“But it's rare to see such quarantine places in our country, and similar rules are still not enough,” he added.

他還說(shuō)，“但是在我們的國(guó)家很少見(jiàn)到這種檢疫所，相似的條例也不夠?！?/p>

The Yulin government said it would show a quarantine certificate, but they haven't shown it yet, an animal rights expert, said.

一名動(dòng)物權(quán)利專(zhuān)家說(shuō)玉林當(dāng)?shù)卣硎緯?huì)出示檢疫證明，但是至今未有消息。

Instead, the government has put a logo for the festival on the city's streets, adding the authority might realize advertising the festival in such a way is not sensible.

相反地，當(dāng)?shù)卣€在該城市街道上鋪設(shè)了狗肉節(jié)的圖案標(biāo)志。當(dāng)局應(yīng)該認(rèn)識(shí)到這種做法是不明智的。

However, Cao Mingde, a law professor from China University of Political Science and Law, said he was pessimistic about restricting residents from eating dog meat and that he doubted an animal protection law could be established within three years.

然而，曹明德（音譯）一名來(lái)自中國(guó)政法大學(xué)的法律教授不太看好禁止居民吃狗肉的實(shí)施，他也懷疑三年內(nèi)是否能建立動(dòng)物保護(hù)法。