Hundreds of animals rescued but many more to be slaughtered as Yulin Dog Meat Festival gets underway in China

HUNDREDS of dogs have been saved from a brutal end, but China’s controversial Yulin Dog Meat festival has gone ahead, despite international outrage.

The festival, held in Yulin, southern China, has been branded “inhumane” with dogs plucked from the street or even loving homes, before being bludgeoned to death — or worse, being skinned and boiled alive.

Charity workers have saved hundreds of dogs (as well as cats) from meat traders as a global chorus calls for an end to the “brutal” event.

One Chinese woman paid about 7000 yuan ($A1450) to save 100 dogs from slaughter, web portal Netease reported. Yang Xiaoyun, 65, said she planned to rehouse the dogs at her home at Tianjin, nearly 2500 kilometres away from the festival’s horrors.

Despite the outrage, the festival has proved popular among locals, who have queued outside places such as the Yulin No. 1 Crispy Dog Meat restaurant. The large eatery sells the freshly slaughtered animals for around $A8.20 a kilogram, the International Business Times reports.