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More than a hundred “terrified” dogs have been rescued from certain death by animal rights groups in China, ahead of the annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival.

Chinese activists negotiated the release of 135 dogs from three facilities in Yulin, in China’s Guangxi region.

Mobile phone footage taken by the activists shows the dogs – mostly smaller breeds preferred by dog traders – huddled in small, filthy rooms, with traces of blood from earlier slaughters.

“What I saw will haunt me for months, I have never seen dogs so scared like these ones,” one of the activists, known only as Allen, told the Humane Society International (HSI).

“The slaughterhouse was utterly filthy, the floor covered in blood and faeces, and the air oppressively offensive.

There were three groups involved, one of which is HSI’s Chinese partner group. The other two did not want to be named.

Most of the dogs rescued were suffering from malnutrition, shock and painful skin diseases, said Dr Peter Li, HSI’s China policy specialist. Three of the dogs were heavily pregnant, and gave birth shortly after being resettled at the shelter.

The rescue operation follows calls from more than 87 Chinese animal protection groups to end the Yulin Dog Meat Festival, which has been running since 2010.  More than 235,000 people signed a letter asking authorities to end the “gruesome” festival, which contributes to the slaughter of thousands of dogs and cats each year.

Five facts about the Yulin dog meat festival

1. It’s not a traditional festival—it was only invented in 2010 by dog traders to boost profits. Before the festival started, Yulin had no history of mass dog slaughter and consumption.

2. Thirty million dogs a year are killed across Asia for their meat—some 10-20 million in China alone—and thousands die just for Yulin.

3. The World Health Organisation warns that the dog meat trade spreads rabies and increases the risk of cholera 20-fold.

4. Dog meat is eaten infrequently by less than 20 per cent of the Chinese population.

5. Dog thieves snatch dogs and cats from the streets, as well as steal them from back yards and homes.

The full list of supporting Chinese animal groups is: 

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