Activists: Dogs on way to Yulin fair likely stolen

Animal husbandry authorities in Yulin, in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, have prevented more than 1,700 dogs from entering the region as of Friday morning because of a lack of quarantine documents.

Animal rights advocates said they believed most of the dogs were stolen.

Yulin locals celebrate the summer solstice, which falls on Saturday this year, with dog-meat hotpot, lychees and liquor. At least 10,000 dogs are eaten during a typical festival, which has spurred opposition from animal rights advocates nationwide in recent years.