OREANDA-NEWS. Undercover footage released exclusively today by nonprofit Last Chance For Animals (LCA) exposes the horrific abuse endured by dogs inside slaughterhouses at China's Yulin Dog Meat Festival. LCA is the first organization to document the unsanitary conditions and inhumane treatment of dogs insideYulin's slaughterhouses. The footage was shot prior to the June 21, 2016 start of Yulin's annual dog meat festival where an estimated 10,000 dogs are killed during the summer solstice. Video taken by LCA's investigators inside the Yulin area slaughterhouses documented cruel transport, handling and killing of dogs, including:

·      dogs tightly packed inside transport cages and left for hours on the sidewalks adjacent to markets

·      slaughterhouse workers ramming and hitting terrified dogs with metal pipes to move them from large transport trucks

·      dogs dragged by their necks with metal tongs and bludgeoned with metal pipes as an ineffective means of stunning them

·      dogs having their throats cut open and slowly bleeding to death while visibly gasping for breath

·      dogs exhibiting signs of severe distress as they stand in pools of blood and watch their cage mates die

 The Yulin dog meat festival was launched by dog meat traders in 2009 as a commercial enterprise to boost flagging sales of dog meat. An estimated 10,000 dogs will be killed and eaten during the festival. Many of these dogs are stolen pets and are transported hundreds of miles over provincial borders to reach Yulin. The slaughterhouses operate without the requisite certificate of inspection as mandated by China's Agriculture Ministry.

 LCA's investigative team traveled to Yulin before the festival started to document the cruel slaughter. LCA will present its findings to the Yulin city council and demand that the slaughterhouses be closed. While the city of Yulin has withdrawn their sponsorship of the festival they have failed to enforce existing laws and regulations violated by the dog meat trade, including laws that regulate animal disease control, food safety, trans-provincial dog transport, and youth protection.

 "LCA's investigation inside the area's dog slaughterhouses spotlights the cruel and illegal practices that Yulin's city government can no longer turn a blind eye to," said Adam Wilson, Director of Investigations for LCA. "The city council must act now to stop the illegal slaughter in Yulin. The festival is condemned by millions of Chinese citizens who overwhelmingly support the passage of animal cruelty laws that would ban the killing of dogs and provide basic protection for all animals in China."