If you've been gearing up for the annual dog eating festival in Jinhua City, China, you'll have to find something else to do that weekend: "Internet-savvy" animal rights activists and dog lovers convinced the local government to cancel the fest, originally scheduled for October.

As the LA Times explains, the dog-eating festival celebrated a tradition dating back to 1389, in honor of a Ming dynasty military hero who supposedly killed all the dogs in Jinhua so they wouldn't bark and blow his cover as he attempted to capture the town. People on the Internet complained about how dogs have been stabbed, strangled, beaten, and boiled at the festival, or subjected to having their eyes scratched out, fur plucked out, and mouths wired shut. The local government thought these concerns outweighed the importance of the "emotional attachment" some villagers had developed for the festival, and there you go, no more dog-eating.

At least the people in Jinhua can still enjoy their world-famous ham. As for you: The parking lot of Southern California's Six Flags Magic Mountain plays host to an ongoing dog-cooking festival of sorts. Try there.

[LA Times. Image via Shutterstock]