Kind-hearted Brits are being manipulated into buying dogs online to save them from China's 'gruesome' meat trade.
Chinese 'dog rescuers' are begging Brits to send them money to prevent animals from being sent to the slaughterhouse.
Their social media posts include pictures of caged pooches alongside prices for each pet, with one advert offering German Shepherds for £156.
But UK-based charity NoToDogMeat claims these 'rescuers' are actually working hand-in-hand with the butchers they purport to oppose.
The charity said a mini-industry has emerged in which breeders are rearing Golden Retrievers and other dogs popular in the West specifically to sell them to 'dog rescuers'.
Julia de Cadenet, founder of NoToDogMeat, told The Mirror: "From our own experience these 'rescuers' often work with the dog meat trade butchers.
"Many (people) on social media who are so moved by dogs being butchered, especially well-known breeds they recognise, will naively contribute to this gruesome trade.
"The requests are almost always the same - lone female rescuer needs £200 per dog to save a life. This pulls on the heart strings of people in the UK wanting to help but unable to travel to China."
Ms Cadenet said some UK charities are now solely rescuing certain breeds, creating a mini industry in China.
She added: "It creates a market for certain kinds of dogs, and opens the doors for unscrupulous people to breed dogs for this purpose alone.
"The reality is most of these dogs are not dog meat trade survivors and it is not a rescue. It's making the problem worse.
"Only recently we were approached by kind-hearted supporters who had 'heard of breeding farms threatening to sell dogs to butchers if people did not buy them'.
"We investigated this as we do all enquiries and saw these breeders were getting rid of stock and saw this as a commercial opportunity."
The Mirror has seen examples of social media posts from Chinese 'rescuers' asking Brits to hand over money to save dogs' lives.
One appeal offered more than 50 German Shepherds at a price of £156 ($218) each.
The 'rescuer' wrote: "In Yanqing, a suburb of Beijing, the Chinese capital, a dog dealer has many big dogs. These dogs are raised as meat dogs and the dog dealer will soon sell them to the slaughterhouse.
"The dog dealer told us that there are now more than 50 German Shepherds, more than 80 Labradors and Golden Retrievers, more than 50 Greyhounds and some other kind of big dogs.
"They need to be redeemed to save them. Each German Shepherd is 1,400 yuan (about $218), each Labrador and Golden Retriever is 1,200 yuan (about $187), each Greyhound is 1,200 yuan (about $187). Other dogs are 1,000 to 1,200 yuan.
"This is a very difficult operation to save dogs because there are too many dogs and a lot of money is needed."
This post was sent to dozens of dog rescue and animal rights groups on Facebook, according to NoToDogMeat.
In another example, a well-meaning activist asked NoToDogMeat to help a charity that had been offered the chance to 'save' dogs from the slaughterhouse.
The message stated: "Hi are you able to assist 50 greys/Whippets to safety from slaughter in China - [redacted] UK have been contacted and need help to rescue/house until adoption can be arranged."
Ms Cadenet said butchers are now stealing dogs and picking up strays to sell to foreigners.
The mini industry emerged after butchers decided to capitalise on the global outrage caused by the annual dog meat festival in Yulin, China, Ms Cadenet said.
For now, the imports have been temporarily halted as Covid restrictions prevent any dogs from leaving China, however it is feared the trade will take off again when these measures are lifted.
NoToDogMeat always tries to rehome dogs in China, however sometimes the charity has to take them out of the country.
This is especially true for larger dogs, which are restricted in places such as Beijing where people are not allowed to own pooches over 35cm tall.
To find out more about NoToDogMeat click here.
