Dogs rounded up from Chinese villages to be slaughtered and served at the notorious Yulin Dog Meat Festival are safe after locals intervened.

Rescuers from a London-founded charity have taken part in a coordinated effort to stop Chinese dog meat trucks illegally carrying hundreds of dogs to slaughter at the festival.

A truck carrying a load of petrified pooches who were destined to be made into soup was stopped on June 18 at a Tian Jia Toll Station checkpoint, heading from Xian Gaoling to the festival.

Authorities were informed and the truck was impounded, with the illegally transported dogs soon to be handed over to Chinese campaigners, who will give them veterinary care and a safe home.

Footage shows the terrified dogs looking through the sides of the truck, as it is forced to stop at the side of a busy main road.

People line the pavement to ensure that the driver does not leave until the authorities arrive.

The operation began earlier when in a stake-out in a village close to the Chinese city Hebei, NoToDogMeat rescuers discovered a truck being loaded with hundreds of desperate dogs, who are destined to die by being made into soup at the festival which starts on June 21.

Rescuer Zhao, pleaded with the workers to spare some of the dogs, but was told that unless he could come up with a significant sum of money their fate would be sealed.

Mr Zhao knows only too well the horrors that lie ahead as he attended the festival last year with two volunteers.

He says that he was so traumatised by what he witnessed he vowed never to return but knowing that so few volunteers are on hand this year to rescue he could not sit by and do nothing.

In 2021 the pandemic pushed China to introduce stricter quarantine laws on the transport and slaughter of live animals.

And, since May 2020, dogs are officially on the safe list so not classified as livestock.

Many parts of China are still in lockdown to protect citizens' health with even vegetable trucks being controlled, so the truck, which is making pit stops around other villages to collect more dogs, is in breach of the rules.

Mr Zhao, 45 who runs NoToDogMeat's shelters in Beijing and Hebei, which currently house around 700 rescued dogs, said: "It has taken a long time and a lot of work to identify the truck, but we are hopeful of a positive outcome. They should not be travelling, and Yulin should not be going ahead.

"This rescue has been a team effort with multiple campaigners from multiple organisations, all united to stop this horrible trade and cruelty."

The NoToDogMeat charity was started in 2009 by London lawyer Julia de Cadenet, after she witnessed the horrors of the dog meat trade.

NoToDogMeat, now holds United Nations Special Consultative Status, providing key information and advice on how to curb the trade around the world.

Julia, 50 said: "It is the Chinese activists and grassroots charities who are risking themselves to act in these situations. Mr Zhao is a superhero.

"As a charity we have very few resources, but we always do our best to act quickly on information we receive, to help these poor dogs, many of whom will be people's stolen pets.

"We call on other organisations and campaigners in China to help us, so that we can spare as many dogs as possible from the torture and horror of Yulin."

Yulin is an ancient city in China known for holding a dog meat festival from June 21 to 30, purportedly to celebrate the summer solstice where an estimated 10,000 dogs and cats are killed and eaten each year.

Far from being ancient or traditional, this festival, known worldwide as Yulin, was created recently in 2009 to bring business to a place that was economically depressed.

Dogs rounded up from Chinese villages to be slaughtered and served at the notorious Yulin Dog Meat Festival are safe after local people intervened.

Rescuers from a London-founded charity have taken part in a coordinated effort to stop Chinese dog meat trucks illegally carrying hundreds of dogs to slaughter at the festival.

A truck carrying a load of petrified pooches who were destined to be made into soup was stopped yesterday (18/06) at a Tian Jia Toll Station checkpoint, heading from Xian Gaoling to the barbaric torture festival.

Authorities were informed and the truck was impounded, with the illegally transported dogs soon to be handed over to Chinese campaigners, who will give them veterinary care and a safe home.

Footage shows the terrified dogs looking through the sides of the truck, as it is forced to stop at the side of a busy main road.

People line the pavement to ensure that the driver does not leave, until the authorities arrive.

The operation began earlier this week when in a stake-out in a village close to the Chinese city Hebei, NoToDogMeat rescuers discovered a truck being loaded with hundreds of desperate dogs, who are destined to die by being made into soup at the festival which starts on Tuesday.

Rescuer Zhao, pleaded with the workers to spare some of the dogs, but was told that unless he could come up with a significant sum of money their fate would be sealed.

Mr Zhao knows only too well the horrors that lie ahead as he attended the festival last year with two volunteers.

He says that he was so traumatised by what he witnessed he vowed never to return but knowing that so few volunteers are on hand this year to rescue he could not sit by and do nothing.

In 2021 the pandemic pushed China to introduce stricter quarantine laws on the transport and slaughter of live animals.

And, since May 2020 Dogs are officially on the safe list so not classified as livestock.

Many parts of China are still in lockdown to protect citizens' health with even vegetable trucks being controlled, so the truck, which is making pit stops around other villages to collect more dogs, is in breach of the rules.

Mr Zhao, 45 who runs NoToDogMeat's shelters in Beijing and Hebei, which currently house around 700 rescued dogs, said: "It has taken a long time and a lot of work to identify the truck, but we are hopeful of a positive outcome. They should not be travelling, and Yulin should not be going ahead.

"This rescue has been a team effort with multiple campaigners from multiple organisations, all united to stop this horrible trade and cruelty."

The NoToDogMeat charity was started in 2009 by London lawyer Julia de Cadenet, after she witnessed the horrors of the dog meat trade.

NoToDogMeat, now holds United Nations Special Consultative Status, providing key information and advice on how to curb the trade around the world.

Julia, 50 said: "It is the Chinese activists and grass roots charities who are risking themselves to act in these situations. Mr Zhao is a superhero.

"As a charity we have very few resources, but we always do our best to act quickly on information we receive, to help these poor dogs, many of whom will be people's stolen pets.

"We call on other organisations and campaigners in China to help us, so that we can spare as many dogs as possible from the torture and horror of Yulin."

Yulin is an ancient city in China known for holding a dog meat festival from 21st to 30th June, purportedly to celebrate the summer solstice where an estimated 10,000 dogs and cats are killed and eaten each year.

Far from being ancient or traditional, this festival, known worldwide as ‘Yulin’, was created recently in 2009 to bring business to a place that was economically depressed.

It is estimated that in China alone, 10 to 15 million dogs are eaten annually - some figures say 50,000 per day and 4 to 5 million cats.

Far from dying out, the dog and cat meat trade is a thriving, highly profitable industry thanks to a strong network of greedy restaurateurs, meat dealers and butchers who, out to make easy money, have convinced the public that eating dog and cat meat is healthful and fashionable.

It is estimated that worldwide as many as 30 million dogs are eaten each year. Many dogs and cats are also used to make medicines and various tinctures or elixirs, which are sold for various health ailments or just as tonics. Their fur is also sold.

ENDS