Stray dogs wait to be adopted at the Lord Bao Park in Hefei, East China's Anhui Province on Sunday. About 100 dog lovers visited the park and some of them successfully adopted a dog. The adoption is free but adopters are required to pledge that they will not abandon the canines. Photo: CFP

Are animal rights activists entitled to eat animals? An animal protection center in Yichang, Central China's Hubei Province, has been under fire after posting pictures of their annual banquet, in which its members happily eat meat, including chicken, fish and duck.

The pictures posted by the Small Animal Protection Center in Yichang on its Sina Weibo on December 31 showed working staff from the center eating dozens of dishes, which seemed to include duck, fish and pork.

Some netizens commented that these pictures showed the working staff of the animal protection center are hypocritical.

"Some people, who claim to be animal rights activists, are doing business 'loving animals.' The activists swindled money from those who love animals and paid for a feast in which the activists eat animals," a netizen wrote on Sina Weibo.

However, some netizens support the center. A netizen who claimed to know volunteers from the center said that the annual meeting was an unusual chance for volunteers of the center to relax. The volunteers each paid 150 yuan ($22) for the feast, and donated 2,000 yuan for the center.

According to an introduction of the center on its Sina Weibo account, it has been in operation for four years and organizes volunteers to feed and take care of stray animals.

Pictures of volunteers from the center feeding stray animals, most of which are dogs, with meat and eggs, also triggered discussion about the activists showing love to selective animals by feeding certain animals with the meat of other animals.

Netizens also criticized the center for asking for money from people who want to adopt dogs.

The center promotes adopting dogs instead of buying them, but the center requires people to pay money to adopt some breeds of dogs to "assist with the shortage of dog food in the base."

In response to the criticism, a netizen who claimed to be a volunteer from the center said some netizens are too "ideal" and cannot understand that it takes money for a center to work. The netizen also said that volunteers from the center are making efforts to protect animals, but are now victims of cyber bullying.