After dying in a barbaric manner, thousands of canines have been skinned and butchered before being served up for human consumption at a sickening meat festival.
In the lead-up to the Yulin festival in the Guangxi Autonomous Region tomorrow, June 21, thousands of dogs and cats, either strays or pets stolen from their owner’s garden, are killed.
When the festival first launched in 2010 between 10,000 and 15,000 dogs were eaten during the 10-day festival, but this has been reduced to around 3,000 after international condemnation.
Customers toast as they watch a World Cup 2018 match, over a canine meat dish at a dog meat market ahead of a local dog meat festival in Yulin, Guangxi Autonomous Region, China, today
In this horrific image, butchered dogs, above, are transported to a vendor’s stall at a dog meat market ahead of the dog meat festival
A man cuts dog meat at a dog meat restaurant, above, in China’s Guangxi Autonomous Region
Horrifying photos from inside a dog meat slaughterhouse show dead dogs being blowtorched for human consumption in preparations for the Yulin festival in China.
The heartbreaking footage of dogs huddled together in a dark, cramped room was taken inside a slaughterhouse that kills around 50 dogs every day.
Activists from Humane Society International recorded the video after negotiating with owners of the factory to release 135 dogs.
Heartbreaking footage inside a dog meat slaughterhouse shows dogs living together in a small, cramped room, covered in dirt and blood
Graphic photos show dead dogs being blowtorched to brown their skin for sale at the Yulin festival in China’s Guangxi Autonomous Region on June 21
Allen, an activist working with HSI, said: ‘What I saw will haunt me for months, I have never seen dogs so scared like these ones.
‘I truly do not understand how the slaughterhouse workers could be so blind to the frightened looks of the dogs waiting for their turn.’
Photos from inside the building show the tools of the slaughterhouse trade including knives, a de-hairing machine, and images of dead dogs being blowtorched to brown their skin for sale at Yulin’s market.
Allen said: ‘The noise of that slaughterhouse stuck in our brain long after we’d left – the wailing of the dogs, the roar of the blow-torch, the thundering of the de-hairing machine while dogs huddled together in fear.’
Around 50 dogs a day are killed at the slaughterhouse to be sold at the dog meat market (pictured) at the Yulin festival
When the festival first launched in 2010 between 10,000 and 15,000 dogs were eaten during the 10-day festival, but this has been reduced to around 3,000 after international condemnation
The 135 dogs were taken to a shelter where volunteers realised three of the dogs were pregnant, before they safely gave birth.
The dogs are now being looked after at shelters across China.
Allen added: ‘Thank goodness those precious puppies were born into the world surrounded by love instead of in that room of death.
‘The mother dogs must have been especially anxious, and I like to think they knew they were finally safe to give birth at our shelter.’
Activists from Humane Society International managed to negotiate with the owners of the factory to release 135 dogs. They are not being looked after at shelters across China
Three of the rescued dogs were pregnant and were able to give birth to their puppies in a shelter