Authorities are set to ban the sale of dog meat during next month’s Yulin festival in China

The controversial festival sees thousands of dogs and cats are brutally bludgeoned to death and sold for their meat.

Now animal campaigners have received reports that the Yulin government is set to prohibit restaurants, street vendors and market traders from selling dog meat at the event.

The ban has been initiated by Mr Mo Gong Ming, Yulin’s new Party Secretary, and will come into effect on June 15, one week prior to the festival that begins on June 21.

It will be strictly enforced with fines of up to 100,000 yuan and risk of arrest for violations.

The ban doesn’t include cats, but it has raised hopes among animal rights campaigners that the industry is seeing its last days.

At its height, some 10,000 to 15,000 animals were killed at Yulin. However, thanks to the work of activists on the ground, this has been reduced in recent years to 2,000 to 3,000.

Last year, a petition with 11 million signatures was handed to the Yulin government in Beijing on behalf of Humane Society International, Duo Duo Animal Welfare Project, RaiseUrPaw, Care2 and Avaaz.

The late Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher and her dog Gary gathered with the campaigners outside the Chinese Embassy in London to send the petition on its way.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “If reports that Chinese authorities are set to ban the sale of dog meat at the widely criticised Yulin Festival in China are accurate, the UK’s largest dog welfare organisation, the Kennel Club, fully supports this.

“We have long condemned the sale and consumption of dog meat and the Yulin Dog Meat Festival.

"The trade has long been associated with a large number of animal welfare violations, which include neglect towards the animals’ physical and mental needs, as they often live and are transported in crowded conditions without sufficient water or food.

"In addition, slaughtering methods are brutal with no regard to the welfare of the animal and the suffering caused. "

Over 10 million dogs are slaughtered and four million cats killed in the China every year for their meat.

The annual Yulin dog meat festival sees Chinese traders bringing animals from all over the country to be butchered and sold for their meat.

Dog meat is a popular winter food in parts of China and Korea, where the rich meat is believed to help keep people warm.

Historically the meat came from strays and dogs bred for sale but now animal rights campaigners have said they often discover dogs with collars and tags when they intercept traders.

But it’s estimated that around 10 million dogs are slaughtered by the dog meat industry in China alone.

The festival has attracted international attention and petitions from Hollywood stars who want to get it banned.

Dogs are transported for thousands of miles, often through extreme terrain and temperatures, to the slaughterhouses.

Each truck can carry hundreds of dogs stuffed so tightly in tiny wire cages that they can't move.

Among the campaigners against the festival is Downton Abbey actor Peter Egan, an Ambassador for Animals Asia, who said: "We know - from the diligent research by charities such as Animals Asia that these dogs are stolen and transported vast distances in appalling conditions.

"We know that the industry is one that is run entirely on the basis of cruelty and criminality. We know that these dogs are not being eaten to ward off hunger – they are eaten for superstitious reasons.

"We know this is not ‘safe’ food as dogs are poisoned on the street and piled into trucks together where diseases spread.

"We know that ending the dog meat trade would end this vast cruelty. It would cut crime and stop putting the health of consumers at risk.

“Pressure has seen the number of dogs killed at the festival drop from around 10,000 to 1,000 in recent years. We need to keep that up - end Yulin and end dog meat eating.”

Celebrities including Ricky Gervais and Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen are among the prominent figures to campaign against the event, with many branding it "barbaric".

The RSPCA said it is working with Chinese authorities in an effort to stop cruelty to dogs and other animals by creating new laws in the country.

The Chinese tradition of eating dog meat dates back to around 500 years and according to historic beliefs, eating dog meat is believed to ward off the heat of summer and bring good luck and health.

Selling dog meat for human consumption is legal in mainland China.

The long-distance transportation of large numbers of dogs for their meat has also been linked to outbreaks of rabies in China and Vietnam.

China's ministry of public health has previously warned Guangxi province, where Yulin is located, has the largest number of cases of human rabies in China.