导读:玉林狗肉节是中国广西玉林市民间一种欢度夏至的民俗。由于每一年的玉林狗肉节都会屠杀掉大量的狗，遭到了众多全国动物保护等各界人士的声讨与反对。
China’s southern city of Yulin began its annual dog meat festival on Tuesday despite opposition from animal rights activists, as residents complained of new government measures to keep the festival low key.
尽管动物权益保护者反对，中国南方城市玉林本周二开启了每年一度的狗肉节，同时居民抱怨政府新措施只是使这个节日低调了些。
The event features consumption of the meat with thousands of dogs expected to be killed. Animal rights activists this month handed Beijing authorities a petition with 11 million signatures protesting against the festival, which they say is cruel.
这一事件的狗肉消费特点意味着数千计的狗被杀害。动物权益保护主义者指出这太残酷了，并于本月向北京递交了一份有1100万签名抗议狗肉节的请愿书。
Though there was only a small number of dogs on sale at the city’s central market, several activists bought the animals which they would otherwise end up on the grill.
尽管在城市的中心市场只有少量的狗在售卖，几名动物权益保护主义者还是买下了这些狗，否则它们将死在烤架上。
"Dogs are man’s best, the most loyal friend. How could we eat our friends? You tell me," said Yang Yuhua, an animal rights activist who flew from the southwestern city of Chongqing to buy dogs sold at this year’s festival.
为了买今年狗肉节上售卖的狗而从南方城市重庆飞过来的动物权益保护者杨玉华说“狗是人类最好最忠诚的朋友。你说我们怎么能吃掉我们的朋友呢？”
Yang spent over 1,000 yuan ($150) to buy two caged dogs at the market from the vendor.
杨玉华在市场上花了超过1000元（150美元）从商贩手中买了两只关在笼子里的狗。
Vendors said that they hoped for good business this year.
商贩说他们希望今年生意能好些。
"They are a lot, a lot of people who like (eating dog meat). It’s your habit, it’s my habit," said a vendor surnamed Zhou.
匿名商贩周先生说：“很多很多的人喜欢（吃狗肉）。你们有你们的喜好，我有我的喜好。”
Despite the open sales, the Chinese for "dog meat" could not be found at any restaurants specializing in dog.
尽管公开销售，“狗肉”的字眼也没能在专做狗肉的饭店中找到。
"Why won’t they (let us openly celebrate the festival)? The city government came out and told (the vendors) not to let restaurant owners sell (dog meat). The city government is always (handling this issue) this way," said Ms. Min, a Yulin resident.
玉林居民闵小姐说：“为什么不能（让我们公开庆祝节日）？市政出面指出是（商贩）不许饭店店主售卖（狗肉）。市政总是这样（处理这个问题）”
Xu Yongfen, a restaurant owner from eastern Anhui province, said he was disappointed in the city efforts to keep the festival low key.
来自东部安徽省的饭店店主徐永锋说他对市政力图使节日低调表示很失望。
"The people of Yulin can see so many dog lovers who like dogs, so they don’t want to connect (anything) with dog. I personally like eating dog meat," he said.
他说：“玉林人看到这么多的爱狗人士的爱狗行为，所以他们不愿意与狗再有（任何）关联。其实我个人就非常喜欢吃狗肉。”
The Yulin government has distanced itself from the festival, saying it was staged by private business people and did not have official backing.
玉林市政府力图与这个节日撇开距离，声明这由私人企业人员举行并没有官方支持。
Dog ownership was once looked down upon as a decadent bourgeois habit, but China’s growing middle class has started to fight what it sees as barbarous abuse.
吃狗肉曾被鄙视为资产阶级腐败习惯，但是中国不断壮大的中产阶级开始抗议这是野蛮的虐待行为。
Dog is a traditional food mostly in southern China, where people believe eating the meat is good for the body during the steamy summers.
狗肉在大部分南方地区是一种传统食物，人们认为在湿热的夏天吃狗肉对身体有好处。
