Chinese town proceeds with dog meat festival despite outcry

BEIJING — Restaurateurs in a southern Chinese town are holding an annual dog meat festival despite international criticism.

Eateries reached by phone in Yulin reported brisk business Sunday during the event marking the summer solstice. They say eating dog meat is traditional, while activists say the festival has no cultural value and was invented to drum up business.

As many as 10,000 dogs, many of them stolen pets, are slaughtered for the occasion held deep in the largely rural and poor Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Celebrities such as British comedian Ricky Gervais and Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen have called for an end to the festival.

Dog is eaten in some parts of China but is not a common dish.