Carrie Fisher Led a Protest This Year Against the Yulin Dog Meat Festival

December 27, 2016 Laura Goldman

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Really, 2016? Just two days after the sad and shocking news that George Michael had died, Carrie Fisher has also left us. Just like Michael, the multi-talented Fisher used her fame to help others, including animals.

In June, Fisher and her constant companion, a devoted French Bulldog named Gary, led a protest outside the China embassy in London, calling for an end to the annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival, a 10-day event in June during which thousands of dogs — including stolen pets — are brutally killed and then eaten.

“My dog Gary is my best friend and it makes me shudder to think there are dogs just like him being kidnapped, beaten and eaten,” Fisher told the Sun at the time. “I told Gary about the festival this morning and he was disgusted. He hasn’t spoken a word since.”

An estimated 10 to 20 million dogs are killed for their meat in China every year. The Yulin Dog Meat Festival was launched six years ago to help boost sales of dog meat.

Thanks to protesters like Fisher, the scale of the Yulin Dog Meat Festival has been reduced by 80 percent in the past few years. The government of China is currently working with local partners to enact new animal protection laws that will end the festival and the dog meat trade.

On Dec. 23, the same day Fisher suffered a heart attack, 110 dogs that were to be killed arrived safely in Toronto after being rescued by the Humane Society International (HSI).

Still, Fisher asked the Sun’s readers to “help keep up the pressure” to end the festival she called barbaric. “Just because it’s happening far away doesn’t mean we should sit back and do nothing,” she said.

In her memory, let’s all keep up the pressure.