Ricky Gervais slammed China's dog meat trade, asking his Twitter fans to support him and the Humane Society International to put an end to the Yulin Dog Meat Eating Festival beginning June 21.

The comedian has asked his 8.6 million Twitter fans to support his new campaign with HSI against the festival. During the festival in 2012, dogs were skinned alive on the street, according to Fox News.

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Each year, an estimated 10,000 dogs and cats are killed in the event, with some reports claiming that 500,000 lbs of dog meat are consumed per annum, according to The Independent.

According to the society, about 10 million dogs are slaughtered in China each year due to the people's appetite for their flesh, however, many Chinese are still opposed to the practice.

The Yulin Festifal in Guangxi province is not traditional, according to HIS. Dog meat traders started the festival over five years ago to boost business.

Gervais, an animal lover, encouraged others to sign a petition against the event.

On Twitter, the 53-year-old comedian posted the meat traders' alleged methods, writing, "They believe torturing the dog makes the meat tastier. They beat them, burn them, skin & boil them alive! Disgusting sub human c**ts. #Yulin"

In another tweet, Gervais linked the petition.

Please help stop the #YulinDogMeatFestival https://t.co/8qjoVQ1Y6X pic.twitter.com/MoCSgYlIfw

— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) June 15, 2015

The Humane Society International filmed animals by the thousands in preparation for the festival. Many of the animals in their films were shown with collars being taken from the streets, after which they are put inside wired cages with neither water nor food before they are killed in a brutal manner.

"It "breaks my heart" to see the bewildered faces of the tortured animals after watching footage of the conditions they are kept in," said Gervais. "My friends at Humane Society International are working tirelessly to end this cruel trade all over Asia, and they desperately need your help."

"I've seen the footage that HSI has captured on video, and it breaks my heart," he added. "I will never forget the look of bewilderment and fear on the faces of these poor animals - the dogs and cats await a horrible fate."

"No animal deserves to be treated like this," he said.

The petition asks supporters to tell Guangxi Party Secretary Peng Qinghua to finally put an end to the festival, reported Mirror.

As for HIS's response to Gervais' support. They are thankful for the comedian's star power:

"HSI has worked with Ricky for quite a few years now on a number of our animal campaigns, he's an incredibly passionate advocate for animals and shares our determination to stop cruelty, so he's a natural fit."

Tagsricky gervais china dog meat trade, ricky Gervais, Yulin Dog Meat Eating Festival, Humane Society International, his, Secretary Peng Qinghua