These heartbreaking images show the rescue of seven hundred cats that had been crammed into tiny cages as they were being prepared to be 'served as food'.
Footage released by animal rescuers show the distressed animals kept in a dozen rusty cages in Linfen, in China's Shanxi province.
It is believed that the felines had been stolen by traffickers and were about to be slaughtered and sold as meat to restaurants before activists stepped in.
The horrific scenes were captured by an animal lover known only as Li who uploaded the footage to Chinese social media website Weibo.