They are beaten to death or have throats slit as traumatised animals watch

And most of the cats and dogs being slaughtered are still wearing collars

Found thousands of animals still being taken in tiny cages and killed there

The Yulin 'meat' festival is where thousands of dogs and cat are eaten

Thousands of stolen pets are being slaughtered for a Chinese 'dog meat festival' which local authorities said was shut down last year, MailOnline has learned.

The local government in Yulin, central China, said they banned the decades-old local tradition after two million furious campaigners in China called for an end to the bloody practice.

But an undercover investigation has found as many as 10,000 helpless animals - many of them still wearing collars having been stolen away from loving homes - are being brought to the city ahead of the festival on June 22.

Many animals die from shock, starvation and dehydration on the journey. The traumatised ones who do survive are beaten to death or their throats slit in street markets and illegal slaughterhouses, animal rights campaigners told MailOnline.

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Business: With over a month to go before the festival traditionally begins, an HSI investigation found hundreds of newly-slaughtered dogs in the city on the market ready to be sold

Shocking: HSI's expert Peter Li was so saddened by what he saw that he decided to rescue two dogs and two cats - one of whom (pictured) was wearing a pink collar

Mistreated: After agreeing to sell the cat to Peter Li, the slaughterhouse worker hooked it by its neck (pictured) to place it in a wire cage for him

No way out: And some of the cats (pictured) suffer such horrendous injuries on their journeys to Yulin from all over China, they can barely stand once taken out of the tiny wire cages

Inhumane: The investigation carried out by Humane Society International (HSI) found cats and dogs are still being brought to the city in wire cages which are so small some animals (pictured) die on the journey

Trapped: Once they arrive in Yulin, the dogs (pictured) are beaten to death before their meat is sold at the annual festival held on June's summer solstice

Humane Society International (HSI) launched an investigation after it suspected thousands of cats and dogs are still being inhumanely killed there in their thousands.



Despite assurances the festival had been banned, HSI's Peter Li discovered hundreds of newly- slaughtered dogs impaled on spikes and cats crammed so tightly into tiny wire cages 'they could not breathe'.

Some could barely stand in their squalid pens because they suffered broken bones and severe wounds from the horrendous journey.

He found that local slaughterhouse workers were instructed to only kill animals under the cover of darkness and restaurants were told to remove the words 'dog meat' from their menus in an attempt to cover up the festival's existence.

'Mass dog slaughter is still going on at Yulin despite the local authorities trying to give the impression that's it's ended' Mr Li told MailOnline.

'The Yulin government has declared the "festival" will not happen, but this is mere semantics and thousands of dogs will still die for their meat whether it's called a festival or not.'

He was alarmed at the dangerously unhygienic conditions in which the animals were being killed and described the smell at a slaughterhouse just outside Dongkou - where the 'end of slaughter process' takes place - as 'offensive'.

Cruel: An investigation fround one of China's bloodiest 'meat festivals' - where thousands of stolen cats and dogs are slaughtered - will still go ahead in the city of Yulin (pictured) even though the local government 'banned' it

Brutal: While in Yulin last week, the HSI investigation discovered hundreds of slaughtered dogs impaled on spikes and cats crammed so tightly into tiny wire cages 'they could not breathe' (pictured)

Chilling: HSI told MailOnline the dogs' throats are cut open while they are still alive. Many of the dogs and cats on sale are thought to be domestic pets snatched off the streets

'The place was full of blood, internal organs of the dogs and cats, blow torched carcasses, and freshly slaughtered dogs hanging on hooks' Mr Li added.

'We saw two wire cages filled with cats waiting to be slaughtered the next day. They were suffering from long journeys, food deprivation, mental trauma, and illnesses. Some of them wore collars. '

It is legal to eat dogs in China and the country has no law protecting the welfare of pets but its Ministry of Agriculture has strict rules which require cats and dogs to have 'health certificates' before they are transported.

The mass-transport of animals over long distances increases the risk of rabies and threatens the health and safety of the people who eat them.

We saw two wire cages filled with cats waiting to be slaughtered the next day... They were suffering from long journeys, food deprivation, mental trauma, and illnesses... Some of them wore collars Peter Li, Humane Society International

Guangxi province historically has the highest number of rabies death in China and Yulin - based in its south-west - recorded 338 deaths from rabies between 2002 and 2006 alone, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Mr Li was so overcome with sadness at the sight of the suffering animals in potentially-disease-ridden slaughterhouses that he rescued two dogs and two cats from the painful deaths that awaited them.

'It was heart breaking when I approached their filthy enclosure, they came up to me hopefully and one frantically followed my fingers with his nose,' he said.

'Like so many of the others, he [the dog] had probably been someone's household pet who was stolen away from his family for this meat trade.

'Another small dog who was always close by this first dog was so quiet as if he was broken spirited, knowing what fate could befall him... Their faces were just so unforgettable.'

'Their eyes.... I knew I couldn't help all these poor animals, but I had to try to change the life of these two fellows.'

'I just told the slaughterhouse worker that I wanted to take these two dogs out of this place of misery, and he accepted... If I'd asked for them all I would have come away empty handed.'

Horrendous: The smell at a slaughterhouse just outside Dongkou (pictured) - where the internal organs of cats and dogs littered the floor - was 'offensive'

Cruel end: And inside the unhygienic slaughterhouses, hundreds of bemused dogs await a brutal and painful death

Hope: Peter (left) was so overcome by sadness at the conditions these animals were subjected to that he rescued two cats and two dogs (pictured)

Posing as a local merchant, investigator Mr Li was about to walk away with the rescued dogs when he noticed an emaciated cat clinging on to the side of its enclosure.

He added: 'She was in such a poor state. Filthy with wild, wide eyes... Her eyes were heart-wrenching, she was clearly terrified. And the pink collar still around her neck was proof that she used to have a loving home.

'She must have been utterly bewildered. She too had a companion who shadowed her, sticking close to each other for protection I guess.

She was in such a poor state. Filthy with wild, wide eyes... Her eyes were heart-wrenching, she was clearly terrified. And the pink collar still around her neck was proof that she used to have a loving home

'They're coming with me too,' he told the slaughterhouse worker, trying not to reveal his emotions in case he discovered why Li was really there.

The 'Yulin Four' are now recovering from their horrendous injuries and mental trauma at a shelter in China, but thousands of others will soon be cut up while still alive - and their meat sold at the markets in Yulin.

China's dog meat trade is neither limited to the summer solstice nor the Yulin markets, with as many as 20 million dogs being killed for consumption in the country every year.

But the Chinese public - particularly younger generations - has turned against the trade and many protests have been held in recent weeks which forced some slaughterhouses to close down their operations.

Peter added that Yulin's authorities are 'very nervous' and have issued warnings to meat sellers to be ready for the protesters from all over the world to descend on the city as the festival's date approaches.

But he claims the dog meat trade is on the decline and at this time of year - when the trade is at its busiest - he only saw two open stores in the infamous Dongkou Market, where seven stores were open last year.

He worryingly predicts many more stores may open nearer the summer solstice, as meat sellers and butchers descend on the city to make money.

Chinese legends say eating dog meat dispels evil ghosts and disease and can even boost men's sexual performance, according to the South China Morning Post.

The tradition is not unique to Yulin. Other cities in the Zhejiang, Guangxi, and Guangdong provinces - the booming industrial town of Dongguan among them - are also known to be avid consumers of dog meat.

MailOnline has contacted Yulin's local government for comment but they have yet to reply.

Readers can sign Humane Society International's petition calling on Chinese officials to end the Yulin dog festival HERE

It is legal to eat dogs in China and the country has no law protecting the welfare of pets, but its Ministry of Agriculture has strict rules which require cats and dogs to have 'health certificates' before they are transported

The mass-transport of animals over long distances increases the risk of rabies and threatens the health and safety of the people who eat them