Blood-stained bowls, rusty catching poles and terrified pooches crammed into tiny iron cages, these are the shocking scenes from inside an illegal Chinese dog slaughterhouse.
The grotty underground workshop in the city of Dalian is said to have been in business for years before being raided by police on March 25.
Police officers rescued nine dogs that were still alive. They huddled in a squalid cage and were almost hidden amongst piles of rubbish in the filthy facility.
Nine dogs are pictured being crammed into a tiny rusty cage at the illegal slaughterhouse
A bowl containing blood is found at the scene by Chinese police who have raided the facility
A metal catching pole, used to yank the dogs from the cage to the slaughter room, is also seen
A pile of dog hair is seen on the floor next to a machine used to remove fur from the animals
The underground slaughterhouse is located in the Lvshunkou District of Dalian, a port city in eastern China.
Police were notified of the existence of the slaughterhouse by Dalian-based animal rights group VShine, which in turn was notified by Dalian Shuguang Stray Dogs shelter.
Volunteers from VShine and its partner Humane Society International, another animal welfare organisation, entered the property with Dalian police.
Peter Li, China Policy Specialist from Humane Society International, described the horrifying scenes witnessed by his colleagues.
‘When our team entered the property, they were faced with the dreadful sight of nine trembling dogs huddled together on the blood-stained floor of the slaughter room.
‘The slaughterhouse itself was a disgusting, filthy sight and it was clear that if the activists and police hadn’t received a tip-off, these dogs would have been bludgeoned to death like so many poor animals before them.’
Humane Society International, an organisation that assisted the raid, describe that nine trembling dogs were huddling together on the blood-stained floor of the slaughter room
The owner (right) of the filthy workshop (left) is said to have run the business for years in Dalian
Volunteers from VShine and Humane Society International rescue dogs from the workshop
The volunteers say the dogs were likely to have been stolen as they were ‘so friendly despite their ordeal’.
Photos of the raid show a discarded bowl still fresh with blood and a blood-stained catching pole. According to the animal organisation, workers at the slaughterhouse would use the catching pole to yank dogs from their pen to the kill floor.
A pile of dog hair was also seen on the floor. The hair is said to be from the so-called de-hairing machine, a cylindrical devise fitted with rubber spokes.
Humane Society International told MailOnline that workers would put a dead dog into the de-hairing machine, which would then spin the animal’s body very fast to pluck out the fur.
After the de-hairing process, the animal’s carcass is blowtorched to get the typical brown appearance one could see on the dog meat market stalls, according to the spokesperson.
A letter, written and signed by the slaughterhouse’s owner, shows the man admitted that he had illegally killed dogs and sold dog meat ‘for a long time’.
The owner promised to stop ‘buying dogs, stealing dogs, killing dogs and selling dog meat’ in the future. The owner also said he is willing to be penalised if he breaks his promise.
It’s understood the owner will not be penalised after signing the promise letter.
The saved pooches, said to be stolen pets, are being treated at two animal hospitals now
The terrified animals are pictured being checked at the VShine Animal Hospital in Dalian
The nine rescued dogs have been taken to the VShine Animal Hospital to be examined.
They are now recovering at two pet hospitals and will be moved to a facility built and funded by Humane Society International in north-east China. There, the pooches will be available for adoption.
It’s estimated that 10 million dogs are slaughtered for meat in China every year. But in many cases the lack of relevant law in China means illegal dog meat traders are hard to be punished.
Humane Society International praised the quick reaction from Dalian police.
Peter Li from Humane Society International said: ‘Most people in China don’t eat dogs and would dearly love to see China’s police forces nationwide act as swiftly to tackle the illegal dog meat trade as the Dalian law enforcement.
‘But sadly until China creates an animal protection law, we are unlikely to see the change in attitude and actions needed.’