A court decision on Tuesday that resulted from an animal rescue two years ago has thwarted the zeal of many dog lovers, but also triggered discussion on better ways to protect animals.

On April 15, 2011, volunteers for the China Small Animal Protection Association spotted a truck loaded with more than 500 dogs on the Beijing-Harbin expressway that was headed for a slaughterhouse.

Volunteers stopped the truck and took the dogs to the headquarters of the association, where they were given medical care while waiting to be adopted.