Dog-Eating Fest Banned

In Qianxi, a town in China’s Zhejiang province, a more than 600-year-old dog-eating festival has been cancelled this year after thousands of people took to social media in protest of the event. The festival celebrates a historical military victory, during which all of the town’s dogs were killed and eaten in order to prevent them from barking and alerting the enemy. Since the battle, the yearly celebration has included the killing, skinning, and butchering of dogs in Qianxi’s streets. This year, hoards of Chinese internet users expressed their disgust for the event, leading to the government’s cancellation of the cruel fête. China has recently seen an increased sympathy for animals; dog ownership was banned during the Cultural Revolution, but animal-companionship rates have risen over the past few decades.