In China, 500 dogs narrowly escaped being sold for their meat after animal lovers rescued them from a truck transporting them for slaughter. Skip related content
The dogs were spotted on a motorway outside Beijing by a driver who swerved his car in front of the truck to block its path. He then alerted others via his micro-blog.
Several hundred people surrounded the truck, demanding the dogs’ release.
Authorities were powerless to intervene because in China there are no laws against animal cruelty.
After a 15-hour standoff, the rescuers ended up securing the release of the dogs only by buying them from the trucking company. The £10,000 bill was footed by an animal rights charity.
The dogs are now receiving medical attention before being offered for adoption in Beijing.
“More than 90% of them have distemper or parvovirus,†said one of the vets treating them. “Some dogs also had other health problems, and were not at all strong. Only the puppies are disease free.â€
Sky News first investigated China’s trade in cat and dog meat two years ago.
At markets in southern China live cats are sold for 70p a pound to local restaurants. By some estimates 10,000 cats are eaten every day.
But the dealers are under pressure from animal rights campaigners who want the trade banned. One cat meat trader even threatened to beat a Sky News film crew as they attempted to film his market stall.
Cats and dogs have been on the menu for centuries in China. The meat is considered a delicacy and served up in restaurants that specialise in so-called “wild tasteâ€.
In traditional Chinese medicine, cat meat is said to be good for the bones, while dog flesh is thought to warm the body during the cold winter months.
One of the most popular dishes is a stew of cat and snake meat known as “dragon fights the tigerâ€.
However, the country’s growing number of animal lovers â€" many of them middle class city-dwellers â€" say cats and dogs should only be kept as pets.
They claim many of the animals that end up in markets are pets that have been stolen from their owners.
A law to ban the trade in cat and dog meat has long been debated by the Chinese media.
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