Indonesia: Stop Dog Meat Abuse

Indonesia has a large dog and cat meat trade which although marketed as "festive dishes," is eaten as regular food on a daily basis, under the false belief it will boost a man's libido and has medicinal powers.

In 2014, studies showed the number of dog bites in Bali alone was around 100 to 130 bites per day. Rabies was first reported in Indonesia in 1884 and now occurs in 24 of the country's 33 provinces. It is a documented fact that vaccines sometimes fail and while Indonesia has done an outstanding job in curbing rabies, to continue to allow dog and cat meat trades to operate goes against all the good work you have achieved thus far, in working toward a rabies free country.

Tomohon Market in Sulawesi, has become a tourist destination for shock and horror, to see live dogs bludgeoned in the head with a lump of wood, or dog butchers' holding open flames from a hand held blow torch on conscious animals as they writhe in agony, to be later sold as barbecued dog or cat meat.

It is alarming to see cat meat in a mainly Muslim country, knowing the Prophet Muhammad loved cats so dearly. Although dog meat consumption is legal, thousands of tourists have documented these animal atrocities and many more, with photographs and videos published throughout the internet.

Many Indonesian pet owners have had their pets stolen, which have been sold to dog butchers, for slaughter. These animals were wearing collars and name tags. Indonesia has a large and growing number of pet dog and cat owners who demand the dog and cat meat trade be ended and immediately banned.

Fight Dog Meat has first hand evidence of live dog meat dogs being tied to bamboo poles, on the roof of public buses, and transported across Indonesia to dog meat markets thousands of miles away. Most dogs slowly die as they bake in the full sun on the hot iron roof, with their mouth tied shut and legs hogtied and trussed. Puppies are tied into sealed plastic bags and also tied onto the bus roof.

In 2015 photographs were taken at the Kupang dog market, where locals laugh at the dogs with their front legs wrenched backward, and tied up across their spine in a contortionist type move, which they describe as "hands in handcuffs," for dogs. "Tied like that they are very easy to carry! You simply hold on to both hands, " said the dog trader.

As the dogs are carried by customers, the dog's shoulders dislocate out of joint because of the impact of their body weight on their shoulder joints. With their mouth tied shut the dogs are unable to scream out in agony or even pant to cool their body temperature. This type of treatment within the Indonesian dog and cat meat trade is unacceptable.

We respectfully ask that the President of Indonesia:

- Strengthen and implement existing laws against animal cruelty, maltreatment and neglect.
- Ban the dog and cat meat trade/traders/smuggling and consumption of dog and cat meat.
- Food hygiene laws to be increased, monitoring of food traders, including public meat markets trading in pet meat and endangered wildlife, with annual unannounced checks to ensure the ban is being adhered to.
- Spay and neuter programs to be increased to reduce stray dog and cat populations.
- Implement laws to make owners responsible for their dogs, to prohibit dogs loitering on streets.
- All dogs and cats to be vaccinated against rabies.

YOU CAN HELP US FIGHT FOR DOGS AND CATS IN THE MEAT TRADE BY JOINING US AT: FACEBOOK: FIGHT DOG MEAT and WEBSITE: WWW.FIGHTDOGMEAT.COM

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