Kelly Osbourne is a huge animal lover, which is clear to see whenever she uploads a picture of her dog Polly to social emdia.

So it should come as no surprise that the TV presenter is supporting a campaign that plans to end China’s annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival.

The twisted festival, which starts on June 21 and continues for 10 days, will thousands of dogs and cats tortured, beaten to death, cooked, and eaten.

In an interview with Humane Society International, she described the festival as “one of the most sickening things in humanity”.

She continued: “When you see these videos of them viciously beating these dogs whilst they’re at a 'festival', that’s not a festival, that’s a massacre, that’s a dog genocide.”

Kelly then encouraged China's younger generation to speak up against those who organise the festival - and to help the #StopYulin campaign.

The 31-year-old said firmly: “You have a voice and it’s a powerful voice, and it’s a strong voice and if you use it towards something that is good like this, you could make it stop.

"Be the change.”

Unsurprisingly, Kelly isn’t the only celebrity supporting the campaign.

Made in Chelsea’s Lucy Watson and Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher both stood outside the Chinese Embassy in London to submit a petition signed by more than 11 million people worldwide.

Lucy, who is often seen onscreen and on social media with her dog Digby, said: “I can’t imagine someone stealing my pet, my friend and turning it into a stew effectively.

“I think it’s disgusting and, unfortunately, animals don’t have voices, we do, so we should be the ones that speak for them.”

Carrie also spoke up against Yulin, explaining that she wants to be the person her dog Gary - who has over 18,000 followers on Instagram - thinks she is.

She then added: “The way these animals look at us... it’s just horrific what they’re doing to animals, and the government being silent about it is.

"They’re complicit so I want to lend my voice to this horrible, horrible tradition.”

With help from Humane Society International, activists from the China Animal Protection Power have rescued 500 dogs from trucks that were going to be slaughtered, many of the dogs were still wearing their pet collars.

And petition with more than 11 million signatures was presented to the Chinese Embassy in London on Tuesday,.

It reads: “Thousands of dogs, many of them stolen pets, are captured and transported over long distances under horrific conditions to Yulin, a city in China’s Guangxi Autonomous Region.

“There, they’re held in crowded cages without food or water until they are killed. Often, they are beaten and their throats are slit in front of other terrified animals. Most Chinese citizens reject this practice, and we’re committed to supporting them in ending the festival in actuality.

“Last year, thanks to overwhelming international pressure, Yulin authorities announced that they would not support the festival. The result was a subdued event and fewer dogs slaughtered than the previous two years.

“More recently, the authorities have claimed that the festival won't happen this year, but the dog meat traders will continue to stage the event with or without official endorsement.”

Five facts about the Yulin Dog Meat Festival:

Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK, said: “In a couple of weeks, thousands of dogs will be beaten to death and eaten at the Yulin dog meat festival.

|Millions die this way in China every year. Our petition shows that people across the world are uniting to urge President Xi Jingping to act to end Yulin – it’s unspeakably cruel, largely illegal and a threat to human health.

“Those are three very compelling reasons to stop this barbaric event and shut down China’s dog meat trade altogether.”

**Sign the petition against the Yulin Dog Meat Festival.