Hi everyone, this is a massive campaign with thousands of people joining every minute from all around the world! We now have more than 2.4 million signatures on Change.org from caring people including you. This is historic and impossible to ignore! Working along with celebrities and other nonprofit organizations globally, this is the start of your journey to help not only the dogs suffering in Yulin, but those abused and killed everywhere around the world. Thank you! We've been busy as you may expect, but wanted to take a minute to answer some of the top questions we have been receiving. 1) When will this petition be a victory? We set signature milestones to keep everyone motivated and show the global momentum on this important campaign. However, the real impact will happen when the Yulin Dog Meat Festival no longer takes place. We hope the "festival" will not happen this year, but if it does we will continue the momentum for as long as it takes. We will post updates for you early next week to give a report of how things went from contacts on the ground in China. 2) How are you delivering the petition? At the moment the petition is growing so quickly that we have decided to email the petition to the Premier of the People's Republic of China and Chinese Embassy Chancery. We continue to keep them updated. This way they can see the growing number of signatures in real time rather than a single petition delivery event which leaves out the newer petition signers (and we save trees by using less paper). In addition to this, Duo Duo Animal Welfare Project sent a postal letter in English and Chinese which talks about the importance of this issue, their own petition on Change.org, and specifically mentions the Raise UR Paw Change.org petition which had more than 700,000 signatures at the time their letter was sent to officials in China. Duo Duo Animal Welfare Project is a highly trustworthy organization with a representative who will be in Yulin to monitor events. Our contact at Change.org based in Washington, DC has spoken to her and she is very excited for the additional global support. Furthermore, we all know the media is a powerful resource. This petition has received international coverage everywhere from the Asia News Network in China to The New York Times in the United States to the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia. You are part of a global media campaign that is impossible to ignore so the Chinese authorities certainly know about this petition and will continue to feel the pressure with the media covering the full story. Each signature makes our voice that much louder. http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/18/q-and-a-peter-j-li-on-the-clash-over-eating-dogs-in-china/ 3) What’s next? The staff at the Change.org petition platform have been a great help providing expert advice and connecting our momentum with organizations like Duo Duo Animal Welfare Project, Humane Society International, and Together for Animals in China. The Yulin Dog Meat Festival is unlike a traditional festival where you may expect a specific venue or permits to simply ‘cancel.’ It’s more of a “celebration” where dog meat is eaten so putting a stop to it may take time. I have no doubt we will have an impact this year, and we will stay active until this festival no longer exists. We owe it to all these animals! 4) How can you criticize people in China for eating dogs when people in other parts of the world eat chickens, pigs, and cows? First, we want to be clear that we do not encourage racism or hatred towards anyone in China -- whether or not they eat dogs. We know dogs feel pain, fear, and joy because we have grown to understand them as individuals who deserve our compassion. Second, just because some people eat other animals, that doesn’t mean it’s ok to eat dogs, too. Many people have said they are more seriously considering vegetarianism as a result of this campaign. We don’t think that’s a bad idea. 5) What is Raise UR Paw? Raise UR Paw is a Canadian Federally Incorporated Not-For-Profit, whose goals is to not only raise awareness on the issues & situations that our voiceless face and are subjected too, but to also be voices for them worldwide. It was created and maintained by a group of animal activists/advocates, we are hoping to shed light on the issues, raise voices & paws worldwide, and join the world united as one strong and powerful voice. We support other organizations and individuals making a stand for our voiceless, and being doing our own efforts to help save and protect animals. Our website is http://www.raiseurpaw.com/