Mandurah canine behaviour specialist fundraising to end 'barbaric' Chinese dog meat festival

The Yulin Dog Meat Festival is an annual event in the Chinese province of Guangxi and will take place between June 21-30 this year.

It is estimated that 10,000 - 15,000 dogs are eaten by humans during this period, with animal welfare organisations across the world fighting to stop the festival in recent years.

Holly Drage works as a canine behaviour specialist in Mandurah and became aware of the festival a couple of years ago.

Since then, she has tried to educate people about the festival and raises money for the Stop Yulin Forever charity, who are pushing for the event to be cancelled.

Ms Drage said the Yulin Dog Meat Festival was "barbaric" and awareness of the animal cruelty involved needed to be raised.

"This 'tradition' has been going on for many years - apart from it being disgusting, the inhumane acts and suffering they inflict on these defenceless animals is something that cannot be ignored," she said.

"Why it hits so hard is the torture behind it. You see footage online of people stealing family dogs, shoving them in cages, torturing them and killing them.

"People need to know that this is happening.

"It is extremely difficult to get through this time of year, but what matters is these poor defenceless animals and drawing as much attention to this as possible."

Ms Drage has set up a GoFundMe page ahead of the festival, with the money raised going to Stop Yulin Forever, who establish dog shelters in China and help rescue animals.

"They save hundreds of dogs - they are not welcomed in China but this organisation goes to lengths to save dogs," she said.

"I don't care if I raise $1000 or $10, any bit I can raise will make a difference. It's a huge difference in helping the organisation to buy supplies, food, medical equipment and much more."

To contribute to Ms Drage's fundraising efforts or for more information on the Yulin Dog Meat Festival, visit this link.