Dr Peter Li, from Humane Society International, who led the rescue, told Sky News: “We came to this slaughterhouse to find it shut, but there were dogs barking inside”.
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“The dogs and cats were clearly afraid, especially the older dogs who looked very fearful”.
“The police presence is heavy in Yulin right now, and the atmosphere is very tense, so this was not an easy rescue”. But once they realized we weren’t there to hurt them, but in fact we would make their suffering stop at last, they very quickly responded with licks and wagging tails.
The dogs were frightened, say rescuers.
The dogs are trucked into Yulin from hundreds of miles away, stuffed in crates without food or water.
The stars are featured in a PSA along with Marc Ching, the founder of the Animal Wellness Project, an organziation that works in Yulin trying to save dogs before the 10-day festival begins.
TACN’s new campaign coincides with the increasingly controversial annual Yulin dog meat festival, for which thousands of dogs are slaughtered.
The animals were immediately transferred to an animal shelter where they are being evaluated by veterinarians..
However, even in the official media, the event had its supporters as the state-run Global Times carried an article saying that “Dog meat festival shouldn’t be canceled forcefully”.
More than 55 percent of respondents from Guangxi think the Yulin festival does not damage how China is perceived internationally, while more than 67 percent from outside Guangxi think the opposite.
Humane Society International last week submitted a petition to the Yulin and Chinese governments that was signed by more than 11million people worldwide, calling for an end to the dog meat trade.
Dogs rescued from a Yulin live dog warehouse, 29 dogs (8 puppies) and three kittens were brought out of Yulin on June 12, 2016.
The local government in Yulin banned the decades-old tradition previous year after 2 million furious campaigners in China called for an end to the barbaric practice. They also asked patrons to snap photos of menu pages that list dishes containing dog or cat meat.
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Opponents of the festival argue the dogs are treated and killed in “abominable” ways, but organizers reject the charge and argue that eating dog is no different than eating pork or beef.
