Newport council joins condemnation of Yulin Dog Festival held in twinned Chinese province Guangxi

Councillors unanimously agreed to the writing of a ‘strong-worded letter’ to the provincial government in Guangxi, where the Yulin Dog Meat Festival is held.

Newport has been linked with the province since 1996, but a council meeting on Tuesday heard that the relationship is ‘dormant’.

Councillor Matthew Evans urged the council to take heed of an online petition, which has been signed more than 27,000 times, calling for Newport to cut ties with Guangxi.

READ MORE: Petition calling on Newport City Council to cut ties with home of Yulin Dog Meat Festival has 27,000 signatures

Describing the festival as ‘barbaric’, the leader of the Conservative opposition said: “As a dog owner, and lover, I cannot comprehend how anyone would want to eat dogs or cats, which also happens there.

“I’m not here to attack their culture but to condemn the inhumane ways [animals] are treated.”

Councillor Matthew Evans

Cllr Evans said public opposition in China was mounting against the festival, which has been held in Guangxi since 2009, which gave him ‘hope for the future’.

“I appreciate we are limited in what we can do but a strongly worded letter expressing outrage should be the start,” he added.

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“If we do not receive a response, I think we should consider cutting ties with the province. We cannot stand by idly and let these gruesome acts go unchallenged.”

Despite the petition not being formally presented to council, its leader Debbie Wilcox agreed with the thousands of signatories and wanted the ‘cruelty’ to end.

Councillor Debbie Wilcox

“We can all recognise the importance of respecting cultural differences, but it is important to raise our concerns when we see such events taking place,” said Cllr Wilcox.

Cllr Wilcox described the relationship with China as important for potential investment in Newport and the UK – but added that the ties should not stop the council from standing up against such activities.

Independent councillor Allan Morris also backed the motion but asked Tory councillors to take a similar stance against any moves to make foxhunting legal again in the UK.

Last year the prime minister Theresa May had considered, but later rescinded, plans for a vote to reverse the ban which has been in place since 2004.

Conservative councillor Ray Mogford agreed with Cllr Morris, saying he opposed other ‘abhorrent’ practices taking place domestically including badger baiting and dog fighting.

He added: “I tried to do some research on our twinning and it seems the relationship is quite dormant so there’s an interesting question as to why we’ve allowed it to become dormant, and is it still relevant?”

According to the council’s website Newport last visited China in 1999, with Chinese representatives last visiting the city in 2004 for the National Eisteddfod.