TOMOHON, Indonesia: Authorities have announced the end of the "brutally cruel" slaughter of dogs and cats for their meat at a notorious animal market on the central Indonesian island of Sulawesi following a years-long campaign by local activists and world celebrities.
SAVED FROM SLAUGHTER Members of the anti-animal cruelty group Humane Society International transport a cage containing dogs from a slaughterhouse in the city of Tomohon, North Sulawesi province, central Indonesia on Friday, July 21, 2023. AP PHOTO
The Tomohon Extreme Market will become the first such market in the Southeast Asian archipelago to go dog and cat meat-free, said anti-animal cruelty group Humane Society International (HSI). Images of dogs and cats being bludgeoned and blowtorched while still alive had sparked outrage.
Edwin Roring, regional secretary of the city of Tomohon in North Sulawesi province, announced the permanent end of the slaughter and trade on Friday. HSI said they would rescue all the remaining live dogs and cats from the slaughterhouse suppliers and take them to sanctuaries.
"We hope that Tomohon will be totally free from dog and cat meat trades," Roring said in his remarks. "We believe the way to reduce people's interest in consuming dog and cat meat in Tomohon is to stop selling it in markets."
He urged people to consume animal food sources that are more hygienic and do not cause rabies, such as pork, beef and chicken. He vowed to deploy law enforcement officers in the markets to ensure there were no more dog and cat meat sellers in the city.
The Tomohon Extreme Market had previously been touted as a tourist attraction and listed on TripAdvisor as a destination that also sells cat meat and the carcasses of wild and protected species such as bats, snakes and other reptiles.
HSI and Indonesian groups operating under the banner of Dog Meat Free Indonesia are campaigning to end the trade in live dogs for human consumption, as rabies could spread to humans during the slaughter or contact with infected meat.
Videos shot by the campaigners at two markets in North Sulawesi province in 2018 showed dogs cowering in cages as workers pulled the howling animals out and bludgeoned their heads with wooden batons. Often still moving, the animals are then blasted with blowtorches to remove their hair in preparation for butchering and sale.
The welfare groups called the treatment of the animals at the markets "brutally cruel" and like "walking through hell," generating sympathy among Indonesians and around the world.
International actors and celebrities in 2018 appealed to President Joko Widodo to close the markets, saying if Indonesia joined other Asian nations that have already banned the trade, it would be "celebrated globally" and end a stain on the country's reputation.
Actor Cameron Diaz, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, talent spotter Simon Cowell, comedian Ricky Gervais, Indonesian pop singer Anggun and musician Moby are among the more than 90 celebrities listed in the letter.