On May 29, China officially removed dogs off the livestock list and are now considered companions/pets. However, this doesn't mean that they are free yet. China has yet to ban the eating of pets. Here are a few statistics about the festival via Humane Society International:
"1) Thirty million dogs a year are killed across Asia for meat. There are estimated to be more than 91.49 million dogs and cats kept as pets in China. An estimated 10 million dogs a year are killed for China’s dog meat trade.
2) The World Health Organization warns that the dog trade spreads rabies and increases the risk of cholera.
3) Most people in China don’t eat dogs, in fact dog meat is only eaten infrequently by less than 20% of the Chinese population. A 2017 survey revealed that even in Yulin, home of the notorious dog meat festival, most people (72%) don’t regularly eat dog meat despite efforts by dog meat traders to promote it. Nationwide across China, a 2016 survey conducted by Chinese polling company Horizon, and commissioned by Chinese group China Animal Welfare Association in collaboration with Humane Society International and Avaaz, found that most Chinese citizens (64%) want to see an end to the Yulin festival, more than half (51.7%) think the dog meat trade should be completely banned, and the majority (69.5%) have never eaten dog meat."
Attached is the website where you can sign the petition against the festival and here is a petition to end the dog meat trade in Asia. It might not feel as though signing a petition or donating is enough sometimes, but petitions like the Humane Society's and the many on change.org have already proven to be effective as seen through China's change of law.
VSF stands in solidarity with the Humane Society (International) and other animal welfare organizations as they fight for the lives of dogs/cats. Thank you.