China's hot issue about its dog-eating festival has led to a violent encounter between animal lovers and the supporters of the said event.

On Saturday night, dog lovers attacked several people eating at a dog meat restaurant in Yulin, China. One of the diners was injured in the clash, according to a China News Agency report.

Like Us on Facebook

Yulin holds a dog meat festival, which commenced Saturday, every single year. The event has ignited the rage of pet lovers across the country. It has also triggered a national debate on whether the eating of dog-meat is ethical or not.

Animal lovers say some locals torture or slaughter dogs in cruel ways, and that some even go as far as stealing pets to sell them to restaurants or to butchers.

The festival's supporters, on the other hand, argue that this has been their tradition and that they have the right to consume dog meat as it is just the same as eating other kinds of meat.

Several Chinese actors and directors have taken to social media their call for a boycott on the high-profile festival. Animal rights organizations have staged rallies in Yulin, smashed the city's butcher shops, and bought live dogs from the vendors just to save them.

The external pressure has led the Yulin government to issue a statement denying it supports the dog-eating festival. The statement also explained that the event was only created by local merchants.

Based on Yulin's official statistics, dog-meat sales in the southwestern city has slumped 70% in mid-June compared to last year, Xinhua News Agency reported.

However, the animal rights groups' efforts to rescue the animals by all means have pushed the price for dog meat further up. Last Saturday, cooked dog meat's price in Yulin hit a record $4 (CNY25) for every jin (0.5 kilogram), Beijing Mirror Evening News said.

TagsDog-eating festival, animal rights