Crammed into rusty cages then sold off to be skinned, boiled and eaten: Vendors chop up dog carcasses as helpless puppies await the butcher's knife ahead of China's barbaric annual Yulin dog meat festival

  • Images from a market in southern China show dogs and cats caged to be sold off for Yulin dog meat festival 
  • Up to four dogs - including puppies - are seen squeezed into single cages stacked or tied to the back of motorcycles
  • Animal rights groups are campaigning against the annual event which sees up to 10,000 cats and dogs butchered 
  • Research last year found the vast majority of animals in the festival are stolen from homes rather than farmed

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Thousands of helpless dogs and cats have been squeezed into rusty cages to be sold off, butchered and boiled in China's infamous Yulin festival. 

The heartbreaking images from a market in southern China show up to four dogs crammed into single cages a day ahead of the annual event, where as many as 10,000 cats and dogs are slaughtered and eaten.  

Some of the animals pictured are still wearing collars - suggesting they were stolen from loving homes - as they await their fate of being beaten to death then having their throats slit in street markets or slaughterhouses.

Animals Asia is among several animal welfare groups crusading against the event, which has sparked global outrage and demands the Chinese government ban the consumption of dog and cat meat.

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Dogs are seen in crammed into a rusty cage at a market in Yulin city ahead of this year's annual dog and cat meat festival 

Dogs are seen in crammed into a rusty cage at a market in Yulin city ahead of this year's annual dog and cat meat festival 

A vendor chops dog meat for sale at a market ahead of a dog meat festival in Yulin, in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

A vendor chops dog meat for sale at a market ahead of a dog meat festival in Yulin, in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

A vendor counts money as he sells a dog: China's infamous Yulin festival sees as many as 10,000 cats and dogs butchered and eaten

A vendor counts money as he sells a dog: China's infamous Yulin festival sees as many as 10,000 cats and dogs butchered and eaten

A vendor waits for buyers beside dogs and cats: Animal rights groups are campaigning against the annual event

A vendor waits for buyers beside dogs and cats: Animal rights groups are campaigning against the annual event

Dogs with raw flesh wounds sit terrified in rusty cages as they await their grim fate ahead of China's barbaric annual Yulin dog meat festival

Vendors wear aprons as they hack with meat cleavers at slaughtered dogs. Roughly 10 million dogs are eaten in China each year

Vendors wear aprons as they hack with meat cleavers at slaughtered dogs. Roughly 10 million dogs are eaten in China each year

Animals Asia CEO Jill Robinson told Daily Mail Australia the campaign against the festival is part of a broader battle against dog eating in China, where 10 million canines are eaten annually.

'The festival is horrific, but the issue goes far beyond this event alone. Ending the Yulin Dog Meat Festival is an significant first step to ending dog and cat meat eating across China,' she said. 

'Members of our team met with Government Yulin officials ahead of this years event and they agreed to help crackdown on the practice, but there is still a way to go before it is officially outlawed.' 

Research from the group found the vast majority of animals used in the festival are stolen - a method that is cheaper and easier than farming.

'Stealing dogs is quicker, easier and more profitable than farming them. Many of the dogs are wearing collars and are visibly confused, which is evidence supported by our research showing the majority are stolen. This makes the festival a social welfare issue as well as one of cruelty.'

Many of the stolen animals die on long journeys from across China while others suffer horrendous injuries that they cannot stand in the filthy pens they are confined to.

Once the festival kicks off  the dogs are clubbed over the head or have their throats slit before they are thrown into boiling water. They later have their hair plucked off and organs removed before being grilled and eaten.

Some of the animals pictured are still wearing collars - suggesting they were stolen from loving homes, the main way of procuring animals for the festival

Some of the animals pictured are still wearing collars - suggesting they were stolen from loving homes, the main way of procuring animals for the festival

Animals Asia founder and CEO Jill Robinson said the campaign against the festival represents a broader battle against dog eating in China

Animals Asia founder and CEO Jill Robinson said the campaign against the festival represents a broader battle against dog eating in China

Research from Animal's Asia last year found the vast majority of animals used in the festival are stolen, which is cheaper and easier than farming the dogs

Research from Animal's Asia last year found the vast majority of animals used in the festival are stolen, which is cheaper and easier than farming the dogs

Many of the stolen animals die on long journeys from across China while others suffer horrendous injuries that they cannot stand in the filthy pens they are taken to

Many of the stolen animals die on long journeys from across China while others suffer horrendous injuries that they cannot stand in the filthy pens they are taken to

Reports last year found that the brutal trade is an all-year occurrence in Yulin, with some 300 dogs and cats butchered every day

Reports last year found that the brutal trade is an all-year occurrence in Yulin, with some 300 dogs and cats butchered every day

Many of the stolen animals die on long journeys from across China while others suffer horrendous injuries that they cannot stand in the filthy pens they are kept in

Many of the stolen animals die on long journeys from across China while others suffer horrendous injuries that they cannot stand in the filthy pens they are kept in

Vendors line the street and chat to customers eager to purchase the dogs ahead of the internationally-criticised festival 

Vendors line the street and chat to customers eager to purchase the dogs ahead of the internationally-criticised festival 

A cardboard sign cable-tied to a cage holding three captive dogs reads: 'Local dog, big dog for sale'

A cardboard sign cable-tied to a cage holding three captive dogs reads: 'Local dog, big dog for sale'

A vendor waits for buyers next to the dogs in cages for sale at a market

A vendor waits for buyers next to the dogs in cages for sale at a market

A tawny brown and a black dog sit in a cage cheerfully, tongues out and panting - totally unaware that they will soon be slaughtered

A tawny brown and a black dog sit in a cage cheerfully, tongues out and panting - totally unaware that they will soon be slaughtered

Animals Asia Cat and Dog Welfare Director Irene Feng noted the added danger of poisoning for those who consume the dogs

Animals Asia Cat and Dog Welfare Director Irene Feng noted the added danger of poisoning for those who consume the dogs

Most of the dogs are clubbed over the head and have their throats slit before they are thrown into boiling water

Most of the dogs are clubbed over the head and have their throats slit before they are thrown into boiling water

 The dogs later have their hair plucked off and organs removed before being grilled and eaten

 The dogs later have their hair plucked off and organs removed before being grilled and eaten

Animals Asia Cat and Dog Welfare Director Irene Feng said in a statement that beyond the cruelty there is an added danger of poisoning for those who consume the dogs.

'Thanks to our awareness raising it is widely understood now that these dogs are stolen. On top of that, repeated reports of dogs being poisoned means that they are not safe to eat.'

Reports last year found that the brutal trade is an all-year occurrence in Yulin, with some 300 dogs and cats butchered every day.

Yulin festival will kick off on Tuesday 21 June, the day of summer solstice.

Animals Asia has launched an open letter to the festival's dog meat traders which can be signed here.

Dogs await their fate of being beaten to death then having their throats slit in street markets or slaughterhouses

Dogs await their fate of being beaten to death then having their throats slit in street markets or slaughterhouses

A vendor with a load of dogs on his motorbike has a grin on his face as he arrives to a market, wearing gumboots and a jumpsuit over his clothes

A vendor with a load of dogs on his motorbike has a grin on his face as he arrives to a market, wearing gumboots and a jumpsuit over his clothes

A vendor stands on top of a cage to stop a captured dog from escaping - although it is already chained to the cage

A vendor stands on top of a cage to stop a captured dog from escaping - although it is already chained to the cage

 A man carrying a child rides an electric bicycle past dogs in cages for sale ahead of the Yulin festival, which will kick off on Tuesday 21 June

 A man carrying a child rides an electric bicycle past dogs in cages for sale ahead of the Yulin festival, which will kick off on Tuesday 21 June

Saved: The Humane Society International rescued 20 sick and injured dogs moments away from being killed in a slaughterhouse

Saved: The Humane Society International rescued 20 sick and injured dogs moments away from being killed in a slaughterhouse

 

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