Whereas the Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, China, was launched by dog meat traders during the period of 2009 to 2010 as a commercial enterprise to boost flagging sales of dog meat; Whereas a reported 10,000 dogs are captured and slaughtered each year for the Dog Meat Festival, and more than 10,000,000 dogs are killed in China each year for the dog meat trade; Whereas many of these dogs are stolen pets, still wearing collars when they reach the slaughterhouses; Whereas many dogs die during transport to the slaughterhouses after days or weeks without food or water, and others suffer illness and injury during transport, such as broken bones; Whereas dogs who reach the slaughterhouses are typically beaten to death with shocking brutality, without any regard for their welfare; Whereas these dogs also suffer mentally from watching other dogs being killed, then disemboweled and blow-torched in front of them; Whereas respected animal welfare organizations have exposed the extreme suffering of dogs at the Dog Meat Festival and determined that such suffering would breach the animal welfare laws of the United States; Whereas dog slaughter in Yulin happens in residential areas and public marketplaces, imposing scenes of extreme animal cruelty on local residents, including young children who may, as a result, suffer psychological trauma and desensitization; Whereas the dog meat trade—the capture, transport, and butchering of dogs and the consumption of dog meat—poses a risk to human health by exposing people to a multitude of diseases, including rabies and cholera; Whereas dog meat traders sell meat from dogs who have died of poisoning by dog thieves or unknown causes or who have been slaughtered without the required vaccination and health records; Whereas the dog meat trade breaches China’s food safety laws and regulations that ban processing and selling meat from livestock who have died of illnesses or unknown causes