Charity searching for Essex animal lovers to join Virtual London Marathon team
NoToDogMeat is hoping people from Essex will sign up
A charity is looking for animal lovers in Essex to be part of their Virtual London Marathon team.
The NoToDogMeat charity works to save dogs and cats from the meat trade.
This year's London Marathon is set to be a virtual event again, meaning people can run it where they live or at beauty spots on 3 October.
Last year, NoToDogMeat had team members taking part as far afield as Australia, and a runner taking part on the streets of Beijing.
The charity supports campaigners in countries which have a dog and cat meat trade, in their drive to change minds on the subject.
NoToDogMeat, which was set up by London-based lawyer Julia de Cadenet, also runs rescue centres in China which house around 450 animals.
Julia said:
"We really hope that people from Essex will sign up to be part of our Virtual London Marathon team.
"You don't have to be an experienced runner, just love dogs and cats as much as you love a challenge.
"Of course it would be amazing if a real competitor would like to take part too, and maybe fly the flag for NoToDogMeat by setting an amazing time!
"Many people ask us why eating dogs and cats is different to eating other animals.
"For a start, we are a vegetarian organisation, but the reason we campaign so hard is because the dog and cat meat trade is so cruel.
"Festivals like Yulin are all about cruelty, and crowds of people gather to watch dogs be beaten and cooked alive.
"Many of the animals are strays or people's pets.
"This is not like the meat you might buy from the butcher or supermarket.
"China has made great steps in legislating against the consumption of dogs and cats by declaring that they are not food.
"But more work needs to be done to end this for good."
People can find out more about the charity and register to join their marathon team online.