The first draft of a law against animal abuse, aiming to protect animals from being hurt or killed in a cruel manner, was completed by a group of experts and was due to be raised for legislation in April, local media reported earlier this year.

The proposal included jailing people who eat dog meat for up 15 days. While many Chinese enjoy rich dog meat, especially during cold winters, some object to the practice in some regions of beating dogs to death to release the blood into the meat.

Preserved dog meat is an accepted cuisine in some parts of Guangdong province as certain breeds of dogs are raised up to 3 or 4 months old and slaughtered on farms, local media reported. Eating dog is a socially acceptable practice in parts of southern China .

Dog meat has been a source of food in some areas of China from around 500 BC, and possibly even earlier.