Dog Market Video Released To The Public

The Tomohon Extreme Market on the Indonesian island of North Sulawesi was a popular tourist destination because to its reputation as a live animal market.

In 2018, however, animal rights activists filmed vendors at the market beating and blow-torching live pets, and the fair was widely condemned as a result.

Lola Webber, director of campaigns at Humane Society International, said that activists have encouraged major travel firms to cease promoting the market as a popular tourist spot. She said that businesses like Tripadvisor had acted fast to comply.

However, it was far more difficult to outlaw the consumption of dog and cat meat, a long-standing custom among the indigenous Minahasa people.

According to HSI, the mayor of Tomohon, Caroll Senduk, signed an ordinance prohibiting the trading of dog and cat meat at the stalls, and the market's meat sellers agreed to discontinue the sale, slaughter, and trafficking of dogs and cats forever.

According to Webber, this is a "major triumph" for the activists who, united as Dog Meat Free Indonesia aim to end the "immense brutality and misery" seen at the fair. It's a huge win for animal rights and the thousands of cats and dogs who are saved from the Tomohon market on a monthly basis, she added.

Merchants were granted a "little subsidy" to suspend trading while a coalition of campaigners pushed the government about the potential spread of diseases like Covid-19 and rabies in live animal marketplaces. According to the WHO, rabies is widespread across Indonesia, notably on the island of Sulawesi.

Michael Patching, head of Impetus Animal Welfare, stated that although the prohibition on dog and cat meat in the Tomohon market is a positive development, the trade still faces many challenges. He mentioned stray animals as a potential problem.

Webber claimed that the partnership working to end the use of dog meat in Indonesia is funding spay/neuter and vaccination initiatives. She expressed her desire to utilize the Tomohon market ban as a model to lobby the government, market administration, meat vendors, and the general public in other regions where dog meat consumption is prevalent. Webber noted that surveys show just around 5% of Indonesians have really tried it. Nonetheless, there are centres of consumption, such as North Sulawesi and Surakarta (or Solo) on the island of Java.

Activists in such communities warn residents about the terrible nature of the pet trafficking business, as it is illegal and indescribably cruel. Weak leadership is considered to be the main problem in curbing the dog and cat slaughter industry.

Animal rights activist Frank Delano Manus from Animal Friends Manado Indonesia claims that 95% of the exotic animal meat consumed in North Sulawesi is illegally imported from other provinces. He said that his group had been met with a "flat reaction" from the authorities when it attempted to prohibit the sale of snake and bat meat when the Covid outbreak struck in 2020.

In addition to Singapore and the Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Taiwan also prohibit the commercial selling of dog meat. However, countries like China, South Korea, and Vietnam are keeping the sector alive and well.

Dog and cat meat is consumed for cultural, religious, and therapeutic reasons in Vietnam, and that one in twenty businesses is an abattoir or restaurant offering dog or cat meat.

However, the restriction on selling dog and cat meat in North Sulawesi may encourage more tourists to visit the region, despite the fact that Tomohon Extreme Market has long been advertised as a tourist destination.

 

source: cnbc.com