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Scores of greyhounds are being worked to the bone, abused and then killed for meat in a scandal which shames British trainers.

Once-proud and majestic dogs are literally thrown on to the scrapheap when their racing days are over.

They are strung up to be weighed, hosed down with scalding water and boiled alive.

Their suffering was exposed as British campaigner Kerry Elliman launched a new mercy mission to save some of the poor creatures.

Kerry, 32, said: “It’s very upsetting but we can’t hide from the reality of what’s happening to these gentle creatures while we turn a blind eye.

(Image: Mirrorpix) (Image: Mirrorpix)

“I’ve seen videos where dogs are being boiled alive. I saw one the other day when a meat wagon was being hosed down with scalding hot water – with the dogs still in it. You could hear them screaming. It was horrific.

“And once greyhounds can no longer race, their meat is all they’re good for.”

The horror of greyhounds used for racing in China’s Macau region reflects badly on some British and Irish trainers who cashed in by exporting their dogs.

Two days ago, Kerry and her team saved nine greyhounds from Beijing, where they were raced to the point of collapse, abused and sent to a slaughterhouse.

Video footage shows one of the dogs – now named Hope – whining in terror after being stuffed into a tiny bag while being transported by abusers.

(Image: Amy Sharpe)

All nine were reduced to skin and bone and infected with viruses like scabies.

Many were missing patches of fur before being rescued. The ex-racers have spent three months in quarantine at Kerry’s rescue centre in Beijing – and homes have been found for them in the UK.

Kerry claims three pups she brought home have British or Irish heritage.

The highly sought-after UK and Irish greyhound bloodlines mean our dogs can fetch prices of up to £300,000 in China.

Currently, it is not illegal for Brits to export greyhounds. Kerry wants to change this.

The married mum of one said: “I understand there are different values and a different culture in China. It upsets me that animals there are treated with so little respect.

"But why do we have to participate in it? Trainers claim they are being exported to countries with welfare.

(Image: John Gladwin/Sunday Mirror)

“But once they are gone you’ve got no idea what’s happening to them.”

Kerry has rehomed 758 greyhounds in five years through her two centres – Birmingham Greyhound Protection and Candy Cane Rescue in Beijing.

She has acted on a number of tip-offs about poor conditions for racing dogs – and the British trainers supplying them.

Dog racing is outlawed in China, but the autonomous Macau region – dubbed the Las Vegas of Asia – has its own legal system and is home to the Canidrome track. Around 120 dogs take part in 16 races five days per week.

A number of British greyhounds that have been exported to China have featured on the Campaign Against Greyhound Exploitation and Death website. There are 30 named dogs on the site.

Once found, a racing greyhound’s heritage can be revealed by checking a number tattooed on its ear.

Locating them in the first place is near-impossible, though – especially as some abusers are said to cut the dogs’ tattooed ear off.

Kerry is in contact with a number of activists in China who patrol slaughterhouses, search meat trucks and inform her when they spot greyhounds.

(Image: John Gladwin/Sunday Mirror)

She said: “They contact me via WeChat, a Chinese social media, if they spot a greyhound and ask if I want to pay to secure and rescue it. Usually the cost is peanuts, £15. I say yes, then make arrangements for the dog to be moved to a rescue centre by my contacts.

“Once, I pledged to rescue 10 greyhounds but the time difference between the UK and China meant the dogs had been killed before they read my message.”

Video footage from contacts across China gives a horrific insight into how racing greyhounds are treated in the absence of animal protection laws.

One harrowing clip shows a greyhound being boiled alive in a cauldron.

In other clips greyhounds yelp as they are strung up with cables and hung from a line to be weighed.

Other greyhounds, reduced to skin and bone, are confined in a tiny cage. Last week, Kerry spent five days in Beijing to retrieve the dogs her contacts intercepted.

She added: “Activists and rescuers that I know pull greyhounds from meat wagons. They risk their lives doing this. One girl I work with over there is traumatised by what she sees happening.”

Kerry flew Bella, Hope, Faith, Little Boy, Charity, Cloud, Nellie, Doodles and Frankie to Paris at a cost of £9,000.

(Image: Amy Sharpe)

She then drove them in a van from Paris to Birmingham via the Channel Tunnel, as flying direct to the UK would have cost £45,000. Kerry went on: “I wanted to bring more back but sadly it’s too expensive. I’ve tried buying Irish dogs back from China and they are £300,000. It’s the bloodline. Ireland have the best dogs.

“We traced Frankie to a pure-blood Irish father, so she is half Irish, Her puppies, Doodles and Frankie, also have Irish blood. If Frankie’s father had not been exported, she and her pups wouldn’t need rescuing. She had seven more puppies in Beijing, but they died.

“We can’t be sure of the heritage of the other five greyhounds. But since the breed hail from the British Isles and Ireland we can be sure their ancestors were exported.”

With the exception of puppies Doodles and Nellie, all were abused as racing dogs.

Kerry and volunteers Amy Cole, 39, and Vaughn Harman, 57, also rescued a one-eyed poodle abandoned on the street. Eight borzoi wolfhounds, no longer wanted by their breeder, were also taken to rescue centres.

Birmingham couple Marilyn and Roy Roberts will be taking in one of the greyhounds, Bella.

Marilyn, 64, said: “Bella has been so poorly treated that her teeth have all rotted and she will have to have them all removed. The trainers that export their dogs are scum. They’re vile.”

Now, Kerry is pushing for dog exportation to be made illegal. And she’s calling for Brits to back her.

She said: “It’s time to put pressure on the Government and the Greyhound Board of Great Britain. They claim welfare is important but they are turning a blind eye to this.

“We are meant to be a nation of animal lovers. But currently we are creating supply for the sick demand. Trainers are profiting while dogs are suffering. It’s not on.”

'Airlines should ban flying them to their deaths'

Thousands of dogs are shipped to the Far East from the UK and Ireland each year, claims Rita James, founder of Caged which campaigns for the welfare of greyhounds.

She said: “This is a huge problem. Greyhounds are mass bred to race and those who don’t make the grade are thrown away. Some are sold for peanuts to Chinese buyers – and sent to a terrible fate. We hear of puppies and champion racing dogs shipped there and bred or raced until they can go no more, then sold for meat.

“Greyhounds are extremely sensitive. They suffer high blood pressure and struggle with extreme cold and heat. They’re travelling for up to 40 hours in terrible conditions.

“It’s horrific. We intercepted a vehicle carrying 24 greyhounds to Heathrow to fly out to China last year. We’ve heard them screaming in terror and trying to eat their way out of cages.” Rita is working with other charities to lobby airlines to stop flying greyhounds for commercial use to China and other countries with very few animal welfare laws.

She said: “The UK is supposed to be a nation of animal lovers yet dogs are being sent to such a cruel fate.”