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Ricky Gervais & More Celebs Tweet To End Yulin Dog Meat Festival

By Kate Morawetz.

If you are active on social media you’ve probably seen pleas for the end of the Yulin Dog Meat Festival, an annual festival in China that’s just as horrendous as it sounds.

Up to 10,000 dogs are stolen, inhumanely slaughtered and cooked, and is drawing outrage from dogs lovers around the globe, including some very vocal celebrities.

The most outspoken of them? Actor and “The Office”; co-creator Ricky Gervais.

Referring to the “tradition”; as a “Dog Torture Festival”; on Twitter, a day doesn’t go by that the actor doesn’t Tweet a plea for the end of the dog-specific atrocities in China.

The festival, which takes place in Yulin China, is accused of stealing pets to use for crispy dog, dog hot pot and other variations, according to CNN.  Yulin residents and dog meat vendors say the animals are killed in a humane way, but activists (and photos) suggest otherwise, describing (and showing) maltreatment that is almost impossible to understand.

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A welfare charity called Animals Asia conducted a three-year undercover investigation on the issue, saying that it has never come across any large-scale dog farms, suggesting that despite claims from the organizers and vendors the animals are stolen, rather than farmed and killed with clubs in slaughterhouses.

CEO Jill Robinson said, “Our investigations strongly point to what everybody familiar with the industry has long suspected – that the vast majority of China’s dog meat comes from stolen companion animals, and that misinformation and illegality is rife at every stage of the industry supply chain.”

A long-time animal lover and activist, Gervais is a supporter of The Humane Society of the United States/Human Society International’s Be Cruelty-Free campaign and was named PETA’s Person of the Year in 2013. The organization recently saved a dog headed to Yulin and named him after the comedian.

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsOther celebrities like Sia, Ian Somerhalder, Carrie Fisher, Ruby Rose, Gisele Bundchen and more are also slamming the event, which supposedly honours an ancient tradition, calling for the end of the festival using the #StopYulin2015 and #itsnofestival hashtags.

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My babies… Now imagine they are yours. You live in China and one day they disappear. Only to be beaten, skinned alive, burned and eaten in the streets at a Dog meat festival. No fuc#%^* way!Keep going. Keep signing this petition- lets let the President of the People’s Republic of China know that this isn’t the mark of great, leading and civilized nation. All nations do a TON of shit we disagree with, the U.S. Being one of them- but THIS is on another level. Spread this petition like crazy. Let MILLIONS and MILLIONS be heard. https://www.change.org/p/president-of-the-people-s-republic-of-china-stop-the-yulin-dog-meat-eating-festival #StopYuLin2015 #StopYuLinForever Thank you all. I’m grateful for your compassion. Let’s DO THIS TOGETHER! Good night world

A photo posted by iansomerhalder (@iansomerhalder) on Jun 17, 2015 at 5:17pm PDT

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It breaks my heart to see how much evil is out there, how can anyone torture and kill this loving and innocent creatures? Please sign this petition to stop this #YuLin2015. #StopYuLin2015 #stopanimaltorture #moreloveplease https://www.change.org/p/president-of-the-people-s-republic-of-china-stop-the-yulin-dog-meat-eating-festivalCorta meu coração ver quanta maldade tem no mundo, como alguém pode torturar e matar estas criaturas amorosas e inocentes? Por favor, assine esta petição para acabar com este #YuLin2015 #parecomatorturadeanimais #maisamorporfavor https://www.change.org/p/president-of-the-people-s-republic-of-china-stop-the-yulin-dog-meat-eating-festival A photo posted by Gisele Bündchen (@giseleofficial) on Jun 20, 2015 at 6:09am PDT

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Most of their tweets include a link to an online campaign run through Change.org that has gained more than 3.9 million signatures in its efforts to stop the slaughter.

If you want to add your name to the list, head over to their website here.

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