Leona Lewis records dog meat festival protest song

Animal lover Leona Lewis has recorded a new charity song to raise awareness about China's sickening Yulin Dog Meat Festival.

The Bleeding Love singer has teamed up with songwriter Diane Warren and reality TV star Lisa Vanderpump for the track (We All Are) Looking For Home, with proceeds from sales of the record benefiting the Vanderpump Dog Foundation and the charity Stop Yulin Forever.

The trio joins a long line of celebrities keen to end the cruel Asian tradition, during which dogs are rounded up and beaten to death because locals believe the fear the animals experience at the end of their lives enhances the taste of their flesh.

Matt Damon, Joaquin Phoenix, Kate Mara and Ricky Gervais have spoken out against the annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival, which takes place this year on 21 June (16).

They are working with Marc Ching, the founder of the Animal Wellness Project, in a bid to raise awareness about and help stop the festival.

"This isn't about being American, this isn't about being an Asian... this isn't about being a Canadian or about being British, this is about being human," the celebrities say in a new public service announcement. They go on to call for a stop to the torture and violence towards dogs in Asia.

Last week (ends17Jun16), China policy specialist for the Humane Society International Peter Li and volunteers for the organization helped to rescue 34 animals from cages in the country.

"It's shocking to think that if we had not been there, all these animals would have been beaten to death and eaten," Li said.