Dogs saved from slaughterhouse

Dozens of dogs on their way to a slaughterhouse have been rescued by police in the northern Philippines.

Sixty dogs were found alive, but 12 others had died of suffocation by the time police found them inside a van. The dogs' snouts and feet were bound by plastic cord.

The van's driver and his assistant were arrested and escorted to their destination - a slaughterhouse inside a sprawling pig and poultry farm in San Carlos township in Pangasinan province.

The slaughterhouse's owner and workers managed to flee when police arrived just before midnight.

Killing dogs for the meat trade is illegal, but dog meat is considered a delicacy in some parts of the Philippines.