China: a peek inside live animal markets

The live animal markets of Guangdong province are notorious for the huge array of reptiles, insects, fish and many other creatures destined for the soup pot, dinner plate and traditional medicine cabinet. Luo Xinmei and her NGO, the Asian Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, are trying to save wild animals by changing Chinese tastes. Photograph: Jonathan Watts

A sliver of slither to get the saliva going? A handful of snakes is held at arm's length by a market trader in Guangzhou China. Photograph: Jonathan Watts

A bowl of live water beetles. The water beetle, also known as the 'predacious diving beetle', is often fried with garlic and ginger and sold as a side dish. They can also be steamed and served on watercress with a plum sauce. Photograph: Sinopix Photo Agency Ltd / Rex F/Rex Features

A kitten claws at the bars of its cage at Qingping market. Photograph: Joe Tan/Reuters

Scorpions climb on top of each other like crabs in a bucket at the seaside. Many will end up in soup, prepared as in this recipe from the World Museum, Liverpool. Photograph: Jonathan Watts

Turtle soup is enjoyed not just in China but in many cultures, including the southern US. Photograph: Jonathan Watts

Turtles destined for the soup pot. Photograph: Jonathan Watts

The Asian Turtle Rehabilitation Centre is part of a growing and increasingly important band of young Chinese trying to help endangered species by changing consumer attitudes Photograph: Jonathan Watts

Fish at the Taipint animal market in Guangdong Photograph: Jonathan Watts

Civets are used around the world not only for their meat but for a musk used to stabilise perfume - which animal rights groups object to - and to produce kopi luwak, also known as civet coffee. The creatures eat coffee berries which pass through them undigested; it is said that the process adds to the coffee's flavour, and the beans fetch a high price. Photograph: Paul Hilton/EPA

Kittens by the bag. Money changes hands for a bag of live cats destined for the table. Photograph: Richard Jones/Rex Features

Baby rabbits are properly called rabbit kittens. Rabbit meat is low in fat, high in protein and does not have the cholesterol level of chicken, beef or pork. Rabbit can still be found in UK butchers, but less so in supermarkets. Photograph: Sinopix/Rex Features

Juxtaposition. Cats are kept in a chickenwire cage above a chicken that is less likely to try to scratch or otherwise hurt its handler. Photograph: Reuters

Field rats are kept inside a cage before being slaughtered and cooked at a wild game restaurant in Guangzhou, China Photograph: China Photo/Reuters

Dogs are transported in cages to Guangzhou market Photograph: Nordahl Aleksander/Rex Features

A turtle for sale at a market in China Photograph: Jonathan Watts