Canine meat is considered a delicacy in China, where about £10m worth of dogs and £4m cats are sold for their meat annually.
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But 1.5 million people have now signed a petition calling for an end to the cruel festival.
Claire Bass, UK director of Humane Society International (HSI), said: “Yulin is one relatively small example of a much larger, uglier issue that thousands of dedicated Chinese activists are working to stop.
In pictures: Inside the Yulin cat and dog meat trade
Show all 13
In pictures: Inside the Yulin cat and dog meat trade
1/13 China
A cat climbs up the cage at the slaughterhouse, trying to escape. This cat was later rescued by Peter Li
2/13 China
A slaughterhouse butcher transfers a cat to a cage, to be handed off to Peter Li. Shortly after, Li rescued the cat from the slaughterhouse
AP/Humane Society International
3/13 China
Two kitchen knives are shown stuck in an iron cage, which are used to butcher dozens of dogs and cats every day. These knives have to be sharpened daily due to the number of animals they're used to slaughter
4/13 China
Caged dogs sit on the side of Renminzhong Road, waiting to be transferred to a slaughterhouse in a narrow alley
AP/Humane Society International
5/13 China
Workers are shown getting the day's dog and cat meat prepared for sale in the morning
6/13 China
Dog meat is displayed in the marketplace
7/13 China
Residents pick their dog meat from a stand on Riverside Road
8/13 China
A woman on her moped transports more than 10 dogs, which had just been slaughtered, to her market shop for sale
AP/Humane Society International
9/13 China
Hundreds of pet dogs await their own death in a slaughterhouse, while they watch as their companions are slaughtered in front of them
AP/Humane Society International
10/13 China
A group of cats from Sichuan Province arrive at Renmin Middle Road on a truck, and wait to be transported on carts to a slaughterhouse in a narrow alley
11/13 China
A truck arrives in Yulin with nearly 1,000 dogs of various breeds crammed into narrow wire cages with no space to extend their limbs. According to the driver, the truck came from Sichuan, 800 miles west of Yulin. The traumatized dogs waited in silence for the next stop on their journey
12/13 China
Dogs are hung up for sale for meat in Dong Kou market, as a dog looks on
13/13 China
Peter Li holds a puppy's collar found at a slaughterhouse
AP/Humane Society International
1/13 China
A cat climbs up the cage at the slaughterhouse, trying to escape. This cat was later rescued by Peter Li
2/13 China
A slaughterhouse butcher transfers a cat to a cage, to be handed off to Peter Li. Shortly after, Li rescued the cat from the slaughterhouse
AP/Humane Society International
3/13 China
Two kitchen knives are shown stuck in an iron cage, which are used to butcher dozens of dogs and cats every day. These knives have to be sharpened daily due to the number of animals they're used to slaughter
4/13 China
Caged dogs sit on the side of Renminzhong Road, waiting to be transferred to a slaughterhouse in a narrow alley
AP/Humane Society International
5/13 China
Workers are shown getting the day's dog and cat meat prepared for sale in the morning
6/13 China
Dog meat is displayed in the marketplace
7/13 China
Residents pick their dog meat from a stand on Riverside Road
8/13 China
A woman on her moped transports more than 10 dogs, which had just been slaughtered, to her market shop for sale
AP/Humane Society International
9/13 China
Hundreds of pet dogs await their own death in a slaughterhouse, while they watch as their companions are slaughtered in front of them
AP/Humane Society International
10/13 China
A group of cats from Sichuan Province arrive at Renmin Middle Road on a truck, and wait to be transported on carts to a slaughterhouse in a narrow alley
11/13 China
A truck arrives in Yulin with nearly 1,000 dogs of various breeds crammed into narrow wire cages with no space to extend their limbs. According to the driver, the truck came from Sichuan, 800 miles west of Yulin. The traumatized dogs waited in silence for the next stop on their journey
12/13 China
Dogs are hung up for sale for meat in Dong Kou market, as a dog looks on
13/13 China
Peter Li holds a puppy's collar found at a slaughterhouse
AP/Humane Society International
“Contrary to the assumptions by many in the West, most people in China don’t eat dogs and in fact they are horrified at the thought of a trade that takes their canine companions away from them.”
Sending her support for the petition, actress Dame Judi Dench said: “It fills me with sadness to think that the Yulin dog meat festival is just around the corner again.
“So I wanted to send this message as a symbol of my solidarity with all the thousands of people in China against the dog meat trade, who love their dogs and cats just as much as we do, but who go through the awful heart ache of having them stolen by dog thieves.”
Most dogs and cats caught up in China’s meat trade are believed to be strays snatched from the streets and stolen pets, according to HSI.
Dogs and cats are typically bludgeoned to death in front of each other, put into a de-hairing machine to remove fur, and then blow-torched for sale to markets, the organisation said.
The animals are also still sometimes slaughtered in public places.
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