China: hundreds of dogs saved from slaughter (VIDEO)

Hundreds of dogs were saved from being slaughtered and served as food in China thanks to a band of dedicated activists.

A man saw a truck filled with whimpering dogs Friday and wanted to rescue them. He used a popular blogging site to organize a group of about 200 activists. The animal lovers blocked the truck on a suburban Beijing highway, not letting it proceed until the driver negotiated the release of the dogs, AP reports.

The standoff took 15 hours, but the driver ultimately agreed to give up the dogs for about $17,000.

AP states that many of the rescued dogs were dehydrated, injured and suffering from a dangerous virus.

Many of the dogs were found with collars and nametags, suggesting they may have been stolen from families, TIME reports.

Dog and cat meat are popular in some communities in China because they are attributed with promoting bodily warmth during the winter.

Some say the incident and the subsequent debate over the use of dogs reflects changes in Chinese society that come with a growing middle class with different sensibilities.

"Local newspapers suggested that the transporters would probably face no repercussions. Animal protection laws barely exist in China, and the truck had all the legal permits to transport the animals." states TIME.