In the country’s first-ever dog meat prosecution, an Indonesian court in Kulon Progo has sentenced a dog meat trader to a 10-month jail term. He was also ordered to pay a $USD10,000 fine.
In May this year, 78 dogs were found on the back of a truck as they were headed for slaughter for human consumption. The dogs, many still wearing collars, had all been stolen from the streets and taken on a journey lasting more than 10 hours. The trader was caught by Kulon Progo District Police and only 62 dogs survived.
Dog Meat Free Indonesia hopes the prosecution will serve as a warning to traders who chose to operate in this brutal and illegal trade, and that the result will encourage authorities across Indonesia to use the laws at their disposal to crack down on dog meat traders.
“There is no excuse for tolerating this illegal cruelty or the dangers the trade pose to public health and safety.”
“This verdict sends a strong message to dog meat traders that this brutal trade is illegal and won’t be tolerated in Indonesia,” said Lola Webber, End Dog Meat campaign director for DMFI member group Humane Society International.
“Ultimately we want to see an enforced nationwide ban on Indonesia’s dog meat trade, but in the meantime, this prosecution will hopefully encourage the authorities in other provinces to use existing laws at their disposal to crack down on dog meat traders who operate in their jurisdictions. There is no excuse for tolerating this illegal cruelty or the dangers the trade pose to public health and safety.”
Despite opinion polls showing only a small percentage of Indonesia’s population (4.5%) consume dog meat, the total number of dogs slaughtered for human consumption is staggering as reflected in Central Java city, Surakarta (“Solo”). In a city with 575,230 inhabitants, over 13,000 dogs are slaughtered each month.
Since 2016, Dog Meat Free Indonesia has worked to expose the reality of dog meat trade and has received global support from celebrities such as Simon Cowell, Cameron Diaz, Pierce Brosnan, and Ellen DeGeneres.
