Animal lovers provoked an angry backlash from residents of a Chinese city after protesting a controversial festival Saturday in which locals celebrate the summer solstice by eating dog meat, witnesses and media said. Activists have flocked for weeks to Yulin, in the southwestern region of Guangxi, to protest the local custom of eating dog — particularly on the summer solstice, which fell Saturday, in an event dubbed the "dog meat festival". "A lot of people have said, 'I don't eat dog meat, but just because of these idiots, I will go buy dog meat to eat and to give to my friends to eat," a 50-year-old animal rights advocate visiting Yulin told AFP by phone. "These outsiders coming in as dog lovers are just troublemakers coming to Yulin to create unrest," he cited locals as saying.
Vendors, activists face off at China dog meat festival
