siap UNTUK dihidangkan .... silahkan di PILIH PILIH gan DOGGY nya ....

The delicacies on offer might not be to everyone's taste, but that didn't stop thousands of visitors attending a food festival in Yulin, eastern China.

For the town is recognised throughout the region for producing some of the most flavoursome dog meat in the world.

More than 15,000 dogs were slaughtered to feed connoisseurs of canine flesh at the week-long festival, which kicked off at the weekend.

Slaughtered: A trader in Yulin transports several dog carcasses on his motorbike

Farmers in the region are highly respected for raising different breeds of dog specifically for the table.

Local Lu Hin explained: 'It is just like other meat. Smaller animals tend to be more delicate and sweeter while very big dogs have a strong, muscular taste.

On the menu: A butcher prepares dog meat carcasses. More than 15,000 of the animals were butchered for this week's festival

'Dog is popular as a dish in China but we are the home of it. We proved that when we started the festival a few years ago and everybody accepts that the best dog meat dishes come from Yulin.

'That was why we created the festival and the number of visitors we get is a testimony to the fact that everybody recognises how good the dog meat is from the region.'

Final journey: Dogs look out of their cages from a truck on a motorway on the outskirts of China's capital Beijing. Dog meat is a delicacy in China, especially in the southern provinces (File photo)

Dog flesh - or 'fragrant meat' as it is known in the region - has been a popular food source in China for thousands of years and is believed to provide medicinal benefits.

However, the industry has come under fire in recent years over concerns about cruelty. Authorities are now proposing to draw up legislation banning the consumption of dog meet.

During the 2008 Olympic games, dog meat was taken off the menus of official Olympic restaurants in order to avoid offending foreign visitors.