(Photo : Pixabay/y Luis Wilker Perelo WilkerNet )

A horrific video of cats crammed in a cage emerged online, causing outraged from animal advocates and cat lovers. Over seven hundred cats were locked in rusty cages placed in a dirty backyard.

In the video, the felines were waiting to be fed while whining in pain as they were stuffed on top of each other. Daily Mail reports that these cats were stolen and will be sold in restaurants for cooking.

Animal lover Ms. Lin, captured the heartbreaking scene after some laborers informed her of the cats in a backyard of a budget hotel in Linfen, Shanxi province of China. The video was then shared on social media alerting Linfen Small Animal Rescue.

The local group rescued over seven hundred cats, placing them in animal cages. Vets are also checking the condition of the cats. Once recovered, the cats are open for adoption.

Authorities are alarmed by this situation because China was the ground zero of the coronavirus pandemic. Cooking and eating wildlife and domestic pets are common in China.

Watch the harrowing footage below:

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