Authorities Just Rescued 53 Dogs Tied Up in Sacks on the Way to a Slaughterhouse
Stuffed in sacks, their snouts tied shut with cable ties, 53 dogs were found crammed in the back of a delivery truck this week as they were being taken to be slaughtered for their meat.
In the landmark sting operation, police in Central Java, Indonesia intercepted the truck as it arrived at the slaughterhouse in the early hours of Wednesday, rescuing the dogs and arresting a prominent dog trader.
According to a press release sent to VICE World News by Dog Meat Free Indonesia (DMFI), a coalition of groups campaigning for an end to the dog meat trade, the arrested trader has been a key player in the local dog meat market for over two decades and is suspected to be involved in trafficking hundreds of dogs across Java every month.
“DMFI hopes that another arrest and eventual prosecution will send a strong signal to other dog traders that their activities are illegal and will be punished,” the press release read.
Lola Webber, campaign director at Humane Society International, a member of DMFI, assisted in the rescue and saw the emaciated dogs.
“My heart was pounding in my chest as we approached the truck,” she said. “I could hear the dogs’ pitiful whimpering and then saw them all tied up in sacks, their soft muzzles squeezed shut with wire.”
According to Webber, one dog died during the journey, while most were less than a year old and wearing collars, meaning they were likely stolen pets.
“To think of the fear they must have endured is just devastating,” she said. “We got there just in the nick of time because the killing usually happens in the early hours.”
With no way of tracing where they’ve been taken from, the dogs are unlikely to return to their homes. DMFI is putting some of the animals up for adoption in Indonesia, while the others will be flown to a temporary shelter in Canada.
Wednesday’s operation is the second major crackdown on the dog meat trade by Indonesian authorities in recent months, a sign that the country is taking action on its pledge to put an end to the dog meat trade.
In October, a dog meat trader was sentenced to jail and fined for violating animal health and safety laws—a landmark case that saw authorities prosecute a dog meat trader in the country for the first time.
Dog meat is considered a delicacy in some regions in Indonesia, including Central Java, and consumed for its perceived medicinal benefits.
While an opinion poll conducted earlier this year revealed that 93 percent of Indonesians support a nationwide ban on dog meat, tens of thousands of dogs continue to be transported across Indonesia every month for human consumption according to DMFI.
“We receive many complaints about illegal dog meat traders’ operations. People do not want this trade or slaughter in their communities,” said Tarjono Sapto Nugroho, head of crime investigation of the Sukoharjo Police, who was not at the scene of the early morning raid, but was involved in its organization.
“Dog meat consumption is considered culture by some, but cultures evolve and so must we.”
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Koh Ewe, Khareem Sudlow
