This is the dramatic moment brave locals rescued cats being kidnapped by animal thieves - destined for the dinner plate in China.

Six 'cat rustlers' who had stolen dozens of felines to fuel the country's meat trade were intercepted by the heroic volunteers on a highway in Taicang, Jiangsu, on July 5.

Footage shows a woman bravely confronting the suspects on top of the cargo bed of their vehicle, wrestling bags containing cats from their hands, and passing them to her fellow rescuers.

One of the thieves even attempted to untie a sack to release the animals onto the highway, prompting the team to secure the container to protect the furry creatures.

Upon the police's arrival, the catnappers fled, abandoning their van.

According to media reports, the thieves were caught on surveillance cameras stealing kittens from homes, prompting the group to track them.

One volunteer said: 'These people used a cage baited with a sparrow, which would attract kittens quickly, allowing them to capture them easily by using a remote-controlled device to electrocute the bird.'

The rescued kittens are currently being cared for at a local animal rescue center, where efforts are underway to reunite them with their owners.

The organization also reminds pet owners not to leave their pets unattended outdoors or in the yard to prevent such incidents.

In September 2022, police rescued 150 pet cats that were lured and trapped by thieves using wild-caught sparrows as bait.

According to police - who arrested members of a gang in the city of Jinan, in east China's Shandong province - the cat thieves caught curious local pets and community cats by placing the flapping and chirping sparrows inside a wire bag within a remote-controlled trap.

Thanks to a tip-off from activists, police found 31 sparrows - a protected species in China - at the scene, along with seven cages crammed with 148 cats.

The Humane Society of the United States said: 'Just like dogs, cats undergo terrible suffering in the meat trade in China. An estimated four million cats are killed each year for this brutal trade. When these cats were discovered, they were overheated, exhausted and crying out from their cages.'