Playfully pawing at a man's leg, a puppy begs for attention as most young pets would do.

At first glance, this could be any cherished canine simply craving more love from a distracted owner.

But this is far from a walk round the park – this poor puppy is about to die a barbaric death at a vile dog meat festival that has sparked outrage around the world.

He is one of thousands of canines that will be skinned alive, butchered and eaten as the market in China got underway amid clashes with protesters.

As many as 10,000 dogs, many of them stolen pets, are slaughtered for the market held deep in the largely rural and poor Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to mark the summer solstice.

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Condemned to die a barbaric death: A puppy paws at a man in a desperate plea for attention unaware it will soon be skinned alive, boiled and butchered at a sickening meat festival in China

Atrocious: Traders pin a dog to the floor and truss it up to prepare it for slaughter at the Yulin meat festival as onlookers gawp and take pictures

Inhumane: A dog vendor carries pets in a cage on his bicycle in Dashichang on the opening day of the dog meat festival in Yulin, Guangxi Autonomous Region, where thousands of animals are slaughtered for food

Sickening: Most dogs are stuffed inside cramped metal cages as they are lined up to be sold at the carnival

Dogs are squeezed into a cage for the Dashichang dog market before being skinned alive and eaten

Activists including celebrities such as British comedian Ricky Gervais and Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen have called for an end to the festival, saying it has no cultural value and was invented simply to drum up trade.

For the past few weeks, international social media has also seen an unprecedented movement against the industry.

However that in turn has sparked a backlash from Chinese supporters, it was reported by Cankaoxiaoxi.com.

One social media user said: 'Eating dog is a tradition for some people. Like some who don’t eat pork or mutton, they won’t object to us eating pork or lamb.

'We should have mutual respect for others. If you don’t like to eat something then don’t eat it.'

Another said: 'Let’s all get together and condemn the practise of eating turkeys at Christmas!'

Campaigners were forcibly dispersed by unidentified men Monday as they attempted to rally outside a government office.

About 10 animal rights activists unfurled banners outside the Yulin government headquarters, before a group of 20 men came and chased them off.

The campaigners held signs reading 'Crack Down on Illegal Dog Meat Trade' and 'Punish Illegal Dog Transport', but the banners were quickly torn out of their hands by the unidentified men.

Fate hanging in the balance: A dog vendor pulls a leash on a dog for sale in Dashichang dog market, where some dogs are sold as pets, while others are sold for dog meat

Forlorn: A dog looks out from its cage at a stall as it is displayed by a vendor at meat festival in Yulin

Trussed up ready for slaughter: As many as 10,000 dogs, many of them stolen pets, are butchered for the market held deep in the largely rural and poor Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

The slogans are an attempt to appeal to local government officials to enforce existing laws on health and administrative grounds, as there are no rules banning the consumption of dog meat.

'Many of these animals are stolen pets, and most of the dog meat trucks coming in are in total breach of China's very clear laws on animals for human consumption,' Adam Parascandola, director of animal cruelty issues at the Washington DC-based Humane Society, said in a statement.

'How much longer can China simply allow the Yulin authorities to flout the law like this?'

As many as 10 million dogs are killed for food annually in China, with up to 10,000 killed for the Yulin festival, according to the Humane Society.

Shocking: Local residents in Yulin host gatherings to consume dog meat and lychees in celebration of the summer solstice which marks the coming of the hottest days for the festival which this year falls on today

Crude: A butcher grills a butchered dog at a slaughter house at a dog meat market in Yulin

A vendor smokes behind a display of dog meat. Thousands are expected to be killed and their meat consumed for the festival, which authorities have tried to deny is still happening, charities say

Cooks chop dog meat at a dog meat restaurant on the day of local dog meat festival in Yulin

People toast over a dog meat dish at a restaurant on the day of local dog meat festival in Yulin

The majority of 'meat dogs' in the country are stolen pets and strays, according to an investigation published this month by Hong Kong-based charity Animals Asia, though eating dog is unusual in most parts of China.

Shortly after the protest in another part of Yulin, traders openly sold dogs off the back of scooters as hundreds gathered at a market. Many dogs were kept in tightly packed cages.

Yesterday, undercover footage of the notorious Yulin meat festival, where butchered dog meat is eaten and washed down with lycee wine.

Harrowing pictures have emerged of the stolen family pets and other waifs and strays, stuffed inside cramped metal cages as they are lined up to be sold at the cruel carnival.

Campaign: Animal rights activists protest against the local dog meat festival in front of a city hall in Yulin

Men whom animal rights activists believe to be plain-clothed police snatch placards from activists in Yulin

Dogs can be heard yelping as animal rights' campaigners surreptitiously film the dog markets, keeping the camera hidden from view for fear of angering locals.

And photographs, taken by members of Humane Society International (HSI) capturing brutal slaughterhouse scenes in the city, clearly show the trade in dog meat is already well underway.

Distraught campaigners and outraged locals have been going there to buy pups and save them from certain death.

Hundreds of animals have been rescued and purchased from dog meat traders, but thousands are expected to be killed and their meat consumed for the festival, which authorities have tried to deny is still happening, charities say.

'We've seen all manner of dog breeds coming in to the rescue shelters, some of them obviously someone's pet because they still have their collars on with their names,' said Adam Parascandola, from the HSI.

Taunted: A mother dog carries a basket with a sign reading 'pups for sale' as a man gleefully takes photos

Trade: A customer holds a puppy for viewing at Dashichang dog market ahead of a dog meat festival in Yulin

Sad: Dogs are kept in a cage at Dashichang dog market ahead of a local dog meat festival in Yulin, Guangxi Autonomous Region

Cruel: Some of the dogs suffer injuries during transportation from being kept in tiny cages like these

Vendors wait for customers as dogs are kept in a cage at Dashichang dog market ahead of a local dog meat festival in Yulin

Undercover footage: A campaigner records the scenes in Yulin as it prepares for the local meat festival

'There are also a lot of cats and tiny kittens rescued. It's nauseating to think that these poor guys were next to be beaten to death and eaten.

It's nauseating to think that these poor guys were next to be beaten to death and eaten. Adam Parascandola, Humane Society International

'We know that these are only a small number compared to the thousands who have already suffered and died, but every life saved is precious.'

He said there was a 'real divide' in Yulin between the older generation dog meat traders and the younger generation Chinese animal traders who want it to stop.

He said: 'We've also seen just ordinary Chinese citizens who have no connection at all to animal rights but have seen the news and felt compelled to come down and help these animals.

'It's inspiring actually, and a real sign of hope for a future China without this horrific dog and cat meat trade.

Many of the animals die on the long truck journeys from across China with others suffering such horrendous injuries that they cannot stand in the filthy pens they are transferred to.

Saved: Adam Parascandola holds one of the lucky rescued dogs as thousands are expected to be slaughtered in the coming days

A survivor? A man holding his young boy chooses a puppy at Dashichang dog market ahead of a local dog meat festival in Yulin. Some dogs are sold as pets but most as meat at the festibval

Slaughtered: Butchered dogs at a slaughter house in a dog meat market ahead of the Yulin festival

Dinner: A boy looks at a bowl of dog meat carried by a waiter at a dog meat restaurant as his family has a gathering to eat dog meat and lychees

Off to market: A man loaded butchered dogs drives past a pet dog at a dog meat market ahead of a local dog meat festival in Yulin

Shocking: A butcher holds a butchered dog at a slaughter house in a dog meat market with dozens of dead cats laid next to him

Preparations: Cooks cut dog meat at a dog meat restaurant ahead of local dog meat festival in Yulin

Controversial: A cook roasts crispy-skin dogs in a restaurant as some 10,000 dogs are expected to be killed

Those who do survive are clubbed over the head and have their throats cut open before they are thrown into boiling water. The butcher then plucks all the hair, removes all the organs and puts the dog on the grill.

Up to 10 million dogs are believed to be killed for their meat in China every year, with as many as 10,000 killed for the Yulin festival alone.

The festival itself has no cultural significance, it was invented by dog meat traders in 2010 as a way to boost their flagging business.

Although dog meat can be found in China today, it is not widely eaten by the average Chinese person and is not part of mainstream culinary practice.

Xing Hai, a Chinese activist working with HSI, said: 'I'm ashamed that around the world China has become famous for its animal cruelty, and Yulin in particular, and I want people to know that there are thousands of us here in China who are sickened by this cruelty too.

'This is not the China that we want, the old ways of treating animals have to end, Yulin is just the start.'

Inhumane: The cats whose meat will eventually be sold for around £2 per half a kilogram - are crammed so tightly into cages they can barely move

Cruel: Dogs are kept in a cage at Dashichang dog market ahead of a local dog meat festival in Yulin, Guangxi Autonomous Region

BOoming trade: Vendors wait for customers as dogs are kept in a cage at Dashichang dog market ahead of a local dog meat festival in Yulin

Poor conditions: A dog with a weeping eye lies at the Dashichang dog market before Yulin's meat festival

Fierce trade: The dogs are bought and sold before the cruel festival in Yulin, China

For sale: Caged dogs wait to be sold in a market on Sunday before the official start of the festival

Cooked: A butcher grills a butchered dog at a slaughter house at a dog meat market in Yulin

The organisation claims the local government could be violating China's national policy by allowing the cruel festival to continue.

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 every cat and dog to have an 'inspection certificates' before they are transported.

Because most of these animals are stolen pets or strays grabbed off the street, dog meat traders do not have the right paperwork or produce 'fraudulent documents' instead, HSI claims.