Dog meat will be banned at an annual Chinese festival after activists campaigned to stop millions of animals being stolen and bludgeoned to death each year.

The government is set to prohibit restaurants, street vendors and market traders from selling dog meat at the barbaric Yulin festival.

It is believed the ban will come into effect on June 15 - one week before the festival begins - and strictly enforced by fines of up to 100,000 yuan and risk of arrest.

Millions of helpless cats will still be transported to the festival to be brutally slaughtered in front of each other and sold for their meat, alongside other types of meat.

Dog meat will be banned at an annual Chinese festival after activists campaigned to stop millions of animals being stolen and bludgeoned to death each year

The government is set to prohibit restaurants, street vendors and market traders from selling dog meat at Yulin's Dongkou market

More than 10million dogs and around four million cats are killed every year across China for their meat

Millions of cats will still be transported to the festival to be brutally slaughtered in front of each other and sold for their meat, alongside other types of meat

Animal campaigners Duo Duo Animal Welfare Project and Humane Society International (HSI) received reports of a ban from Chinese activists, which were confirmed by three traders at the market.

The news is warmly - if cautiously - welcomed by Duo Duo, HSI and their respective Chinese animal group partners on the ground, all of whom have campaigned for years for an end to the brutality of Yulin and China's year-round dog meat trade.

More than 10million dogs and around four million cats are killed every year across China for their meat.

Contrary to popular belief, the Yulin festival is not a traditional event but one invented in 2010 by dog meat traders to boost flagging sales.

One horrifying image shows a woman on a moped transporting 10 slaughtered dogs to the market to sell them

It is believed the ban will come into effect on June 15 - one week before the festival begins - and strictly enforced by fines of up to 100,000 yuan and risk of arrest

The terrified animals werr kept in their thousands in tiny dirty cages in the back of a truck heading to the market. Chinese activists saved these 202 dogs from butchers knives after intercepting the truck

Caged dogs sit on the side of the road waiting to be transferred to a slaughterhouse in a narrow alley

At its height an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 dogs were killed at Yulin, reduced to 2,000 to 3,000 in recent years.

Most of the dogs are stolen pets and strays grabbed from the streets still wearing their collars when they reach the slaughterhouse where they are typically beaten to death.

Most people in China don't eat dogs, and pet owners and dog thieves have had numerous violent clashes.

The dog meat trade also poses a threat to public health, with the World Health Organisation warning that the trade spreads rabies and increases the risk of cholera.

Campaigners recognise that the ban is temporary and does not yet signal an end to the Yulin event in advance of which dogs are still likely to be killed.

A slaughterhouse worker speckled with blood is shown after killing dozens of helpless dogs

Most of the dogs are stolen pets and strays grabbed from the streets still wearing their collars when they reach the slaughterhouse where they are typically beaten to death

Most people in China don't eat dogs, and pet owners and dog thieves have had numerous violent clashes

It is still a milestone victory in the ongoing campaign to end mass dog and cat slaughter at Yulin, and is evidence of growing political will from inside China to clamp down on the trade.

Andrea Gung, executive director of Duo Duo Animal Welfare Project, says: 'Even if this is a temporary ban, we hope this will have a domino effect, leading to the collapse of the dog meat trade.

'I have visited Yulin many times in the last two years. This ban is consistent with my experience that Yulin and the rest of the country are changing for the better. I am very impressed that the younger generation in Yulin and in China is as compassionate as their counterparts in the rest of world.

'Duo Duo Project also wants to congratulate Mr Mo Gong Ming, Yulin's new Party Secretary, for his progressive and visionary leadership. I hope this will turn out to be the beginning of the end of the dog eating habit in China.'

Pictured, a Chinese activists gives water to a caged dog held in a cage in a truck. Activicts rescued 400 dogs from the truck bound for the meat trade on June 29, 2015. This was the first rescue coordinated by Humane Society Internationalís China Animal Rescue Command Center launched after Yulin dog meat festival

The dog meat trade also poses a threat to public health, with the World Health Organisation warning that the trade spreads rabies and increases the risk of cholera

Campaigners recognise that the ban is temporary and does not yet signal an end to the Yulin event in advance of which dogs are still likely to be killed

It is still a milestone victory in the ongoing campaign to end mass dog and cat slaughter at Yulin, and is evidence of growing political will from inside China to clamp down on the trade

Peter Li, China Policy specialist at Humane Society International, says: 'The Yulin dog meat festival is not over just yet, but if this news is true as we hope, it is a really big nail in the coffin for a gruesome event that has come to symbolise China's crime-fuelled dog meat trade.

'Millions of dogs and cats are stolen each year, including pets, and driven thousands of miles across China to be bludgeoned to death in front of each other. As opposition to this trade has grown within China and across the world, much focus has been placed on the Yulin festival and so it is significant politically that the authorities are taking the outrage to curb this cruelty seriously.

'At last year's Yulin festival there were roadblocks set up to deter dog trucks coming in, and now this ban signals further progress.

'Regrettably, many dogs and cats will still be killed for the Yulin festival in advance of the ban, so their suffering is not over yet, but this is certainly a milestone victory and we commend the Yulin authorities for taking this action.'

Actress Carrie Fisher joins MPs and campaigners to hand in 11 million signature petition at China's London Embassy last year, to end Chinaís Yulin dog meat festival

Wang Liqun, an annimal rights advocate, poses with the petition letter to the representative office of Yulin city government in Beijing June 10, 2016

Actress Carrie Fisher, Made In Chelsea's Lucy Watson, singer Sandi Thom, actress Jenny Seagrove, TV vet Marc Abraham and TV dog trainer Victoria Stilwell all joined in the petition to stop the horrific slaughter of helpless dogs

A massive rally in Dalian organized by the city government drew more than 100,000 people representing 1300 groups to protest the barbaric festival

Animal rights advocates gather before staging a protest outside the representative office of Yulin city government in Beijing in June 2016

Duo Duo and HSI are urging Yulin authorities to make the ban permanent, make public service announcements warning against transporting dogs for the dog meat trade that highlight the new associated penalties, enforce food safety laws and regulations and build a government facility to house dogs confiscated from the dog meat trade.

Last year, a petition with 11million signatures was handed in to the Yulin government in Beijing on behalf of Humane Society International, Duo Duo Animal Welfare Project, RaiseUrPaw, Care2 and Avaaz.

The late Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher and her dog Gary gathered with the campaigners outside the Chinese Embassy in London to send the petition on its way.

Speaking at the event, Mrs Fisher said 'There is so much animal suffering in the world, and much of it you feel helpless to end.

'But stopping the Yulin dog meat festival and ending all that suffering is easy. All the Chinese authorities need to do is declare it shut down, and the killing stops.

'These poor dogs need us to fight for them. Every single one of them is as precious as my dear Gary, every one of them is someone's best friend.'

There is a tireless campaign in China to end the dog meat trade, with Chinese animal activists staging protests and dog rescues all year round.