Restaurants selling dog meat in the South China city of Yulin are removing or covering up the word "dog" in their restaurant names or menus as a controversial annual dog meat festival approaches.

The "No.1 Crispy Dog Meat in Yulin" restaurant, for example, is rebranded "No.1 Crispy Meat in Yulin." Menus on the wall no longer feature dog.

The government recently invited restaurant owners to a meeting, suggesting they not provoke animal lovers by butchering dogs in the street, hanging cooked dogs in the window or using the word "dog" in their names and menus, a restaurant owner told China News Service.

An official at Yulin's drug and food bureau said authorities have strengthened management of meat sales, and those restaurants without necessary permits are banned from selling dog.

Another well-known dog restaurant, Weizhongji, or "The Best of Tastes," has removed all dog dish posters off its walls.

The owner told China News Service he could accept the impact on his business as he did not want to trouble dog lovers. He is trying to sell more donkey meat instead.

The dog meat festival falls on the summer solstice each year in Yulin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Animal lovers often protest the canine carnage.

One owner of a four-outlet restaurant chain said she has been receiving more than 30 phone calls or messages a day since June 6 from people protesting or even threatening her and her family, the China News Service reported.

A dozen "strangers" reportedly from the city of Nanning and neighboring Guangdong Province became involved in a fight with dog meat business owners on Tuesday, saying they were trying to save dogs.

Police said they stopped the intervention after establishing the protestors could not provide documents to prove the dogs belonged to them.


Newspaper headline: Police stop would-be rescuers ahead of festival