Most of the 1,381 dogs spared during the Yulin Dog Meat Festival in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region have died from distemper and been deep-buried in Gaoyou, a county-level city in the eastern province of Jiangsu.

"A lack of equipment means that instead of cremating the dead dogs, we have to bury them in deep holes disinfected with lime," said Zhang Zhengzhong, director of the nearby Sanduo Veterinary Station. "The Health and Quarantine Department now examines the dog shelter regularly and workers from our station check the dogs every day. Still, many locals have expressed concerns about the safety of the environment."

When the dogs first arrived in Gaoyou, volunteers and veterinarians contacted the shelter to offer assistance, and supporters across the country donated large amounts of dog food. That help has now almost dried up.