Yulin, a city in southern China, celebrates the summer solstice by throwing a festival that involves the slaughter and consumption of as many as 10,000 dogs. Not everyone in China supports such practices, however; 65-year-old Yang Xiaoyun, a retired teacher who runs an animal shelter in Tianjin, traveled more than 2,400 km (1,500 miles) and spent more than 7,000 yuan ($1,100 or €990) to save 100 dogs from certain death.

A red squirrel and a woodpecker having an “argument” over some nuts in a woodland near Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway in Johnsfield, England in September 2020. (Photo by Karen Crawford/South West News Service)

Visitors observe the sculpture “That Girl” by U.S. artist Paul McCarthy, at the Hyperrealist Sculpture 1973-2016 exhibition in the Museum of Bellas Artes in Bilbao, northern Spain, July 27, 2016. (Photo by Vincent West/Reuters)

Women jump as they pose for photo in front Patuxay park, ahead of the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos September 5, 2016. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

Mini-pigs perform during the presentation in Balashikha, Russia on December 19, 2018. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

British singer Rita Ora, dressed up in a silver top and black vinyl trousers celebrated her 30th birthday in upmarket Chinese restaurant, Hakkasan, in Mayfair, London on Thursday November 27, 2020. (Photo by Instagram/The Sun)

A woman hands flowers to a member of the Wisconsin National Guard standing by as people gather for a vigil, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S., August 28, 2020. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

Beatriz Hatz, of the U.S., competes at Women's Long Jump -T64 final at the Stade de France stadium, during the 2024 Paralympics, Saturday, August 31, 2024, in Paris, France. (Photo by Emilio Morenatti/AP Photo)