HUNDREDS OF CATS have been rescued in China after the truck they were travelling in crashed on Monday.

The caged animals were stranded on the roadside for almost 24 hours before a number of residents of Changsha County in the Hunan Province heard about the accident and travelled to the site.

They nursed the cats with food and water. Some of the creatures, who were crammed into small crates, had already died.

The surviving cats have been sent to Changsha Small Animal Protection Association.

It is understood the cats were being sent to Guangdong, where they would be sold.

The appetite for cat meat in the south of China, particularly Guangdong, has created a supply chain across the country. Animals Asia believes that up to four million cats are killed and eaten each year.

The organisation has launched a petition, entitled Friends or Food, to urge the Chinese leadership to legislate against the killing of dogs and cats for food.

The practice of cat eating has largely been confined to the Guangdong province, where the truck involved in the accident was travelling to. A famous traditional dish in the area is Tiger, Phoenix, Dragon, which is made with cat, chicken and snake.

According to Animals Asia, it is common for restaurants in the province to have cages of live cats at their entrances, waiting to be chosen by diners.