Bludgeoned, blowtorched alive, butchered and eaten
Campaign to shut down cruel live meat markets
Animals we saw were terrified and often sick and injured LOLA WEBBER ANTI DOG-MEAT CAMPAIGNER
DOGS cower in rusting metal cages before being bludgeoned, blowtorched and butchered – at an open-air market where adults and children watch the sick spectacle.
Animal welfare campaigners have uncovered the torture at an Indonesian meat market branded a “must see” tourist attraction on travel site TripAdvisor.
Karin Franken of Jakarta Animal Aid Network said: “The traders who beat and burn these animals alive show total indifference to their pain and anguish, and even appear to play up to the crowds.
“It’s a sickening display that should never be seen as entertainment.”
Dogs and cats are yanked out of their cages, smashed over the head, and thrown to the ground. They are then blowtorched to remove their hair, before being butchered for cooking and eating.
Thousands of dogs and cats are killed at the markets in North Sulawesi each week and 90% have been stolen.
Campaigners from the Dog Meat-Free Indonesia coalition filmed at two of the region’s notorious 200 live animal markets to expose the horrifying suffering.
In one frame a man is holding a child up to watch the blowtorching. Another shows an animal being beaten.
DMFI campaign coordinator Lola Webber said: “The animals we saw at the markets were terrified and often sick and injured, after surviving gruelling journeys to market and rough handling by traders. “It was like walking through hell.” Mass movement and butchery of the often diseased animals poses public health risks, especially rabies.
Asia Minister Mark Field MP and Indonesian Ambassador Rizal Sukma have both been urged by activists to take action and get the hellholes shut down.
TripAdvisor deleted the page praising the market after being made aware.
The DMFI is calling on animal lovers to join their calls for a ban on this trade.