
Two British female volunteers nicknamed the 'Angels of Yulin' helped to save 1,000 dogs from certain slaughter at China’s sickening Yulin Dog Meat Festival.

In a daring rescue operation witnessed exclusively by the MailOnline, a team including Brits Jess Henderson and Helen Reed won a last-minute stay of execution for the dogs and whisked them away to the safety of animal shelters.

In moving scenes, the animal lovers wept as they were allowed into the slaughter house where the dead and the dying lay inside rusty cages alongside terrified dogs – many of them pets stolen off the streets.

Their mission comes as meat traders at the controversial festival reveal their sickening techniques to butcher dogs from cage to dinner plate.

Dogs have their throats slit, are cooked in vats of boiling water and their fur is blowtorched to make ‘dog crackling’ seasoned with garlic, chilli and ginger.

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Freed: Rescuers from a California-based animal charity have saved 1,000 dogs destined for the dinner plate at China's Yulin Dog Meat Festival

Rescued: These dogs would have been killed and served as a delicacy but for the brave rescue helped by two British women nicknamed the 'Angels of Yulin' after they saved the dogs from four slaughterhouses at the festival

Saviours: 'Angels of Yulin' Jess Henderson (left) and Helen Reed (right) said they saw pictures of dogs cramped in tiny metal cages and felt that they needed to go and save them

Horror: The Brits have seen shocking pictures like this and immediately felt compelled to do what they could to save the animals. The charity they are with have struck deals with six slaughterhouses to close during the 10-day event

Some 10,000 dogs and 4,000 cats are killed each year for the notorious event which began in 2010 and went ahead this year despite a petition to the Chinese government this year signed by millions of animal lovers worldwide.

The California-based charity Animal Wellness and Hope Foundation rescued 1,000 dogs from four slaughterhouses, using four trucks to spirit them out of Yulin to safety. Some 280 dogs were rescued from one slaughterhouse alone to which MailOnline was given exclusive access.

Some of those were saved after charity bosses paid slaughterhouse owners thousands of pounds to close for the duration of the 10-day festival and to set the dogs free in a deal struck only the day before event began on June 21.

The foundation's leader Marc Ching told MailOnline last night the deal was one of six he had struck and said he hoped to transfer a total of 900 condemned dogs out of Yulin by Wednesday.

Yesterday's remarkable rescue in the Gandi village district of Yulin involved a nerve-jangling six-hour operation to transfer volunteers and rescue trucks to the primitive slaughter house to secure the dogs' release.

The team was shadowed every step of the way by undercover police officers who monitored their every move and tailed them on motorbikes and cars as they travelled from their hotel to the slaughter house.

Heatbreak: Jess Henderson (pictured), 24, from Fife, said: 'My own pet dog died on Friday and I decided that was a message to me that I had to come to Yulin'

Unbearable: Helen Reed, who works for the National Trust, told MailOnline the conditions were 'disgusting and horrendous'. 'The smell is unbearable,' she said. 'There is a dead dog, two dogs who are dying and dogs fighting. It is heartbreaking'

Shock: Ms Reed's partner, IT worker Ben Mullins, 30, from Swindon, told MailOnline: 'I was speechless when I first saw the slaughterhouse. The way the dogs are treated is unbelievable'

Butchered: Mr Mullins added it is not just the dogs being eaten, but how they are kept in tiny metal cages and killed beforehand. He described what happened to the dogs in their final days as 'torture'

Disgusting: Inside the primitive slaughterhouse where, in searing 35 degrees Celsius temperatures, 280 dogs were crammed into large open air cages, among them diseased canines, as well as the bodies of dead and dying animals

Earlier, some team members say police called on their hotel rooms for ID checks in the middle of the night while others had abuse spat at them by dog meat trade supporters who accuse foreigners of trying to rob them of their livelihoods.

Appalling scenes greeted them inside the primitive slaughterhouse where, in searing 35 degrees Celsius temperatures, 280 dogs were crammed into large open air cages, among them diseased canines, as well as the bodies of dead and dying animals.

The body of one small dead dog lay on a wooden trailer covered in a filthy blanket.

Outside a large cage containing around 150 dogs was a freezer containing the skinned top half of a slaughtered dog.

Many of the surviving dogs wore collars betraying the fact they were stolen pets, some snatched in faraway provinces and driven up to 600 miles crammed in tiny cages on board lorries to be sold for meat at the annual Yulin festival.

As she helped comfort a desperately ill dog lying panting on the ground, 24-year-old Ms Henderson, from Fife, Scotland, who has taught English in Hong Kong and worked with an animal charity for the past eight months, said she heard about the rescue operation only last week.

Death: Outside one large cage containing around 150 dogs was a freezer containing the skinned top half of a slaughtered dog. Many of the surviving dogs wore collars betraying the fact they were stolen pets

Demand: The team paid thousands of pounds to strike deals with four slaughterhouses to close during the 10-day event and lorried the rescued dogs away from the Yulin markets where they are eaten as a delicacy

Intimidation: But not everyone wants to stop the festival. Saving the dogs was a six hour operation, with volunteers being watched by undercover police officers - some even followed to their hotels, where their papers were inspected

'My own pet dog died on Friday and I decided that was a message to me that I had to come to Yulin,' she said, clutching a cloth bag with the word 'Vegan' on it but filled with bacon and pork sausages she collected at her hotel breakfast to feed to the famished animals.

'When I told my mum I was coming here, she just said 'Don't get arrested' … I have come here to save as many dogs as we can and to stop the festival.'

She said she was shocked at the number of dogs crammed together in the cages at the slaughterhouse. 'I went into the cage and some of the dogs ran up to me and let me stroke them,' she said. 'Most of them are stolen pet dogs.'

Ms Reed, 33, who works for the National Trust, and her partner Ben Mullins, both from Swindon, paid £1,200 each to fly to Yulin to help with the rescue, arriving on Sunday on their ever first visit to China.

'I changed my mind 100 times before I decided 'Let's do this',' she said. 'We are not here to be heroes. We are here for the dogs.'

Ms Reed described the conditions of the dogs in the slaughterhouse as 'disgusting and horrendous'. 'The smell is unbearable,' she said. 'There is a dead dog, two dogs who are dying and dogs fighting. It is heart-breaking.

'I hope these dogs we have saved can find a home. Every dog should have a home where they are treated properly.'

FROM CAGE TO PLATE: HOW DOGS ARE BLOWTORCHED SO FESTIVAL-GOERS CAN ENJOY 'CRACKLING' Delicacy: Dog meat may not taste great, but people still flock to eat it. Here, it has been cooked with chilli, garlic and ginger From cage to dinner plate, butchers at Yulin Dog Meat Festival slit the animals' throats, blanch them in boiling water and blowtorch their fur to make 'dog crackling', MailOnline can reveal. Dogs are then diced into chunks and stir-fried with chilli, ginger and garlic and served as a delicacy. The full sickening detail of how household pets become ingredients for meals is laid bare by meat traders Customer Lu Guanghui, a 70-year-old retired farmer, said: 'It is not the most delicious meat. It is like beef but a little tougher and similar in texture to goat. It also has a rich flavour. However I do believe it is one of the healthiest meats. 'I have eaten it once every five days since I was a boy. My father, grandfather and great-grandfather ate it before me. It is a traditional Chinese food and we are proud of our tradition in Yulin.' Star dish: The dog's skin is blow-torched to become 'crackling', a prized part of the dish that sells for 35 RMB for a a 500g plate (£3.60) Dog meat with crackling - or 'cuipi gourou' - is one of the most popular dishes at the festival. The crackling is the skin of the dog and is a prized part of the dish and sells for 35 RMB for a a 500g plate (£3.60) suitable for two people. The crackling effect on dogs' skins is created in the slaughterhouses where, after having their throats slit and being put into vats of boiling water and de-hairing machines, the dogs' bodies are blow-torched. The blow-torching means the dog is half cooked before it reaches the market stalls where it is chopped up and sold to order by the kilogram, usually for 15 RMB per 500 grams. In restaurants, the dog meat is chopped into chunks and then stir-fried for three to four minutes with garlic, chilli peppers, fresh ginger and star anise. Stomach churning: Before they can be blow-torched, however, the dogs are put into vats of boiling water and de-hairing machines Lu Guanghui added: 'Dog meat makes you strong. It is particularly good for your back and your spine. It makes you stand up straight like a man. 'These so-called animal lovers who object to our traditional food have something wrong in their brains. They don't understand the countryside ways. 'In any case, when dogs get old they often go mad so it is better to kill them and eat them before they try to eat you.' Advertisement

She said she had been shocked to see how many stalls in Yulin were serving dog meat on the morning of the festival – not just in the city centre but out in the suburbs and surrounding villages.

'When you see the sheer scale of the festival, you think: 'Are we fighting a losing battle?'

Mr Mullins, 30, an IT executive, said: 'I came along with Helen because I didn't want her to come out here on her own.

'What I've seen here is absolutely horrific. I was speechless when I first saw the slaughterhouse. The way the dogs are treated is unbelievable.

'I don't think the dog meat industry would be such a big issue if they were killing dogs in a humane way but they are tortured and beaten.'

Another of the rescuers, Californian Deborah Hall, said: 'I am surprised to see how many little dogs and how many thoroughbreds such as Pomeranians are among the dogs here.

'They are obviously stolen pets. A lot of them are very sweet natured and have collars on. They were obviously someone's pets because they are so happy to be touched.'

Reprieve: Rescue leader Marc Ching admitted he had paid the owners of the slaughterhouse in a last ditch attempt to save the animals. In total he hopes to save some 900 dogs from the slaughterhouses

Campaign: 'The slaughter houses will stay closed for every day of the festival and the festival lasts 10 days. I will pay for their taking for every day they stay closed and my team will check that they remain closed'

Hope: Mr Ching added: 'This is all about showing the world there is hope. If we show that, I believe the international community will step in and champion the cause so that next year the festival doesn't even exist'

Team leader Mr Ching confirmed he had secured the dogs' release by paying the slaughterhouses to shut for the festival.

'I'm sad to say that but it's true,' he said, admitting it was not the ideal solution.

'The slaughter houses will stay closed for every day of the festival and the festival lasts 10 days. I will pay for their taking for every day they stay closed and my team will check that they remain closed.

'This makes a statement that for the first time in the history of this Chinese dog festival, there is a glimmer of hope that outside groups can come in and change history.

'This is all about showing the world there is hope. If we show that, I believe the international community will step in and champion the cause so that next year the festival doesn't even exist.'

Mr Ching's volunteers were last night moving the dogs by truck with the help of another NGO. He said he hoped to move a total of 900 dogs from six slaughterhouses in the next 24 hours.

Help: He believes the international community could step in and help if they see there is a way to stop the festival going ahead

Popular: However, across Yulin, market stalls were piled high with roasted dog carcasses on Tuesday morning and diners queued up outside the city's most popular dog meat restaurants for the festival's busiest day. Pictured: An activist rescues a dog

'Even if this action just creates a shortage of dogs at some restaurants and makes the price of dog meat more expensive this year we will have achieved something,' Mr Ching said.

Across Yulin, market stalls were piled high with roasted dog carcasses on Tuesday morning and diners queued up outside the city's most popular dog meat restaurants for the festival's opening and busiest day.