Animal Market in Indonesia To Stop Selling Dog and Cat Meat Following Worldwide Campaign

Following a worldwide campaign to stop animal cruelty, a notorious animal market in Indonesia has stopped selling dog and cat meat.

The Regional Secretary of the City of Tomohon, Edwin Roring, announced the permanent end of the slaughter and trading of the said animals.

(Photo : Pexels/Afif Ramdhasuma)

According to a report from the Strait Times, Tomohon Extreme Market is the first Indonesian market to go dog and cat meat-free.

Eating dog and cat meat is a tradition of the Minahasa people, North Sulawesi's largest ethnic group, but Tomohon officials said they aimed to educate communities about animal cruelty and the health dangers involved with eating such meat, including rabies.

"Because the way to reduce the interest in consuming dogs and cats in Tomohon is to start by stopping their sales in the market," said Roring.

Worldwide Campaign

According to the article from the Associated Press, Tomohon Extreme Market has previously been promoted as a tourist site, with TripAdvisor listing it as a location that also sells cat meat and the carcasses of wild and protected species, like bats, snakes, and other reptiles.

In 2018, footage of dogs and cats being bludgeoned and burned alive inside the market sparked outrage and protest from animal rights activists.

The anti-animal cruelty group Humane Society International (HSI) and Indonesian groups under the banner of Dog Meat Free Indonesia called the treatment of animals at the marketplace "brutally cruel" and akin to "walking through hell."

Actress Cameron Diaz, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, talent spotter Simon Cowell, comedian Ricky Gervais, Indonesian pop singer Anggun, and musician Moby signed an appeal to President Joko Widodo to close the markets.

"These animals, many of them stolen pets, are subjected to crude and brutal methods of capture, transport and slaughter, and the immense suffering and fear they must endure is heartbreaking and absolutely shocking," the letter said.

Health risk and changing attitude

According to a 2021 opinion poll, 93% of Indonesians support a countrywide ban on dog meat, while only 4.5% have ever eaten it. Despite this, around 20,000 dogs and cats are slain each week.

Elvianus Pongoh, one of the sellers at Tomohon, said it was high time to end the trade.

"I have probably slaughtered thousands of dogs. Every now and then I would see the fear in their eyes... as I came for them, and it made me feel bad," he told DW. "I know this ban is best for the animals and also best to protect the public."

However, some of the traders are not pleased with the ban.

"What can we do? It's already a rule from the government, so we have to follow it," Melki Pongo told Benar News.

Dog Meat Free Indonesia (DMFI) expressed hope that the ban would boost pressure on the government to treat the "enormous public health risk" posed by the dog and cat meat markets more seriously.

According to the HSI, many Asian countries, including the Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Malaysia, have already prohibited the trade and eating of dog meat.