It is known as a “festival,” but there is little fun about it. The Yulin Festival has commercial origins and is held once a year on the summer solstice. Invented in 2010 to boost sales of dog and cat meat, this event reflects a trade that continues throughout the year, despite the fact that few Chinese people continue to consume these dishes. In May 2025, Vshine, a partner group of Humane World for Animals, conducted interviews among the inhabitants of Yulin and revealed that 87.5% of them never or rarely eat dog or cat meat, and 88% say that a ban on the trade and slaughter of these animals would have no impact on their lives.
However, the business linked to these animals is not limited to meat. For years, the fur market has been the driving force behind economic recovery in China. Over the years, fox, mink, raccoon, and wild cat farming has become a government-supported way to lift the country’s peripheral areas out of poverty.
The centers of the new fur trade in China have been cities where, since the 1990s, large shopping centers dedicated exclusively to fur have been built, such as Chongfu, known for its wholesale fur market, and Harbin, for the Harbin International Fur City, a 11,000 m² center.
China is the largest producer of fur and importer of fur worldwide, supplying more than half of the finished fur garments imported for sale in the United States. Chinese people are still among the largest buyers of fur in the world, and further impetus to this market could come from the growing bans on fur farming in many European countries.
Especially in 2020, after the closure of many Danish mink fur production facilities, China saw its domestic market grow enormously. This growth was facilitated by the European ban on production, but not on imports.
In fact, while the EU and the US banned the import and sale of dog and cat fur in 2000, China has some discretion in labeling, allowing it to not specify the animal’s origin. EU legislation prohibits introducing fur from countries that do not ensure minimum welfare standards into the European Union.
Although China has adopted stricter rules on farming, slaughter, and transport in recent years, it is not uncommon for fur produced using brutal methods to end up for sale in Western stores.
As with meat production, some investigations have revealed fur production centers where dogs and cats were also used, bred, collected from the streets, or stolen from families. The final products are bags, toys, and clothing. The numbers involved in this slaughter are staggering: a single coat requires about 10 dogs—more for puppies, of course—and 24 cats. In a market in Guangzhou, in Guangdong province, rugs made from dog and cat fur were found. In a shop in Beijing, investigators found clothes and toys for children in the shape of dogs and cats, made from their fur.
An investigation led by Animal Equality has shown that in the facilities in Jiaxing, dogs are killed and skinned, with death only coming after a long and agonizing struggle. Cats and dogs are beaten with sticks and, when they are already dying, their throats are cut. Many regain consciousness only to bleed to death.
Undercover investigators from Swiss Animal Protection/EAST International have documented that many animals are still alive and struggling desperately when workers turn them onto their backs or hang them by their legs or tails to skin them.
When we remember the atrocities in Yulin, we must consider them within the broader context of the indifference and disrespect toward animals that we consider family members. Cats and dogs in China often endure the most severe abuse. This is why we must make our voices heard and remind the Chinese government of its duty to take immediate action. This may even mean reducing a few economic sectors.
