Animal rights activists in Shanghai have rescued 300 cats from a dealer who was planning to sell the allegedly stolen pets to restaurants in southern China.

The activists, acting on a tip-off from a cat lover, found 22 bamboo cages full of cats in a yard, from where they were to be shipped to Guangdong province,

Lai Xiaoyu, 34, who was one of those involved in Friday night's rescue, told the AFP news agency that most of the animals have been returned to their owners, but three cats died and some had broken legs.

"They had clearly been abused," he said. "They were squeezed into such small cages. Some of the cages contained more than 20 cats. Two of these cats had been dead for a while when we found them.

More than 50 pet owners came looking for their lost cats on Friday night after the activists sent out a message on an internet forum.

The dealer was released after a few hours without charge because animal protection laws are non-existent in China, the report said.