[10][11] Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China officially declared that dogs are companions, and should not be treated as livestock,[12] thereby banning their commercial slaughter and sale.

[13] During February, the city of Yulin made a statement to put a ban to the dog consumption market, stating that as an effort to combat coronavirus.

[17] Millions of Chinese in 2016 voted in support of a legislative proposal by Zhen Xiaohe, a deputy to the National People's Congress of China, to ban the dog meat trade.

[18] A petition in China the same year, which garnered 11 million signatures and called for an end to the festival, was presented to Yulin government offices in Beijing.

[20][21][22] Chinese celebrities such as Fan Bingbing, Chen Kun, Sun Li and Yang Mi have also publicly expressed a distaste for the event.

While noting the "duality" of dogs as both companions and food items, the editorial urges restraint in handling the issue and calls for mutual understanding from both organizers and activists in reaching a respectful compromise.

[citation needed] Due in part to social media campaigns both in and outside of China, the number of dogs slaughtered has apparently decreased since 2013 to 1,000 in 2016, although the festival is still being held in 2021.

Li replied that the opposition to eating dog meat at the festival began with the Chinese, as "the bond between companion animals and humans is not Western.

[29] In 2016, an article written by the BBC noted that the festival began amid widespread criticism, saying, "Activists say the event is cruel, and this year a petition calling for it to be banned collected 11 million signatures.

[33] An article in The Diamondback further questioned whether the large amount of criticism towards the festival was truly due to animal rights instead of cultural relativism, arguing that chickens being "drowned alive in scalding tanks" or left to "freeze to death in slaughterhouse trucks" was another cruel practice in the US that had garnered less attention.

[5] In 2016 Humane Society International organised a petition in opposition to the dog eating festival which was signed by 11 million people worldwide.

Celebrities and citizens including Joaquin Phoenix, Matt Damon, Sia, Bill Maher, Lisa Vanderpump, Ricky Gervais, George Lopez, Ian Somerhalder, Leona Lewis, Lori Alan, Tom Kenny, Rob Zombie and Anushka Sharma have publicly denounced the festival.