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Harrowing footage shows dogs being burned alive in preparation for the annual Yulin dog festival in China.

Every year, up to 15,000 canines are tortured, killed, skinned and cooked to be sold at the dog meat event in Yulin.

Millions of activists have campaigned against the barbaric practise in China where canine meat is considered a delicacy.

The animals are slaughtered with clubs or beaten to death, and some are even blow torched alive.

Thousands of locals flock to the event ever every year to celebrate the summer solstice, buying, selling and trading the meat.

Many of them believe dog flesh is beneficial to their body and health.

(Image: Twitter/@malau94428928)

Approximately £10 million worth of dogs and £4 million cats are sold annually for their meat across China.

The Yulin dog meat festival, which begins today is held at Guangxi in China and lasts for 10 days.

More than 1.5 million people have signed an online petition demanding to ban the sick festival.

Claire Bass, Executive Director of Humane Society International UK, said: “The dog meat trade in China is first and foremost about crime and cruelty.

"The Yulin festival is one small but distressing example of an unspeakably cruel trade run by dog thieves and sellers who routinely steal pets in broad daylight using poison darts and rope nooses, defy public health and safety laws, and cause horrendous suffering, all for a meat that most people in China don’t consume."

(Image: Twitter/@malau94428928)

The Yulin dog meat festival was first launched in 2010, with growing demands from animal rights groups to ban the barbaric tradition.

The RSPCA’s head of international, Paul Littlefair, said: “The Yulin dog meat festival is one of the high-profile reasons why the RSPCA is working closely with the Chinese authorities to help address animal cruelty.

“Since 2008, the RSPCA has been working to improve animal welfare in China.

"Working very closely with the authorities and other animal welfare organisations in the country, we have helped draft the country’s first law designed to address deliberate cruelty to animals.

"Although the law has yet to be passed, it has raised awareness of animal cruelty and there is growing opposition among the Chinese people to events like Yulin.

(Image: Twitter/@malau94428928)

"Both policy makers and ordinary citizens are increasingly calling for legislation to end the kind of cruelty seen in the dog meat trade.

“Our work on law is being underpinned by a long-term RSPCA education programme in schools using animal themes to promote values and attitudes such as respect for life, kindness, empathy and good citizenship to help raise awareness of the animal sentience.

“Only by changing attitudes will China reach a point where the broad population accepts that the treatment of animals matters, and that laws are needed to prevent cruelty.”

Meanwhile, veteran actress Dame Judi Dench sent a message of support for the petition, saying: "It fills me with sadness to think that the Yulin dog meat festival is just around the corner again.

"So I wanted to send this message as a symbol of my solidarity with all the thousands of people in China against the dog meat trade, who love their dogs and cats just as much as we do, but who go through the awful heart ache of having them stolen by dog thieves."