In safe hands: Activists from Animals Hope Shelter Indonesia checking a truck containing hundreds of dogs intended for consumption after it was seized by police in Semarang city in Java. — AFP
Semarang police have intercepted a truck carrying more than 200 dogs shackled and bound for the slaughterhouse, authorities said, in the latest victory for activists who oppose eating dog meat.
The vehicle was detained Saturday night in Semarang city in Java, where the pooches were discovered in the bed of the truck with their legs and mouths bound.
The authorities arrested five truck crew members, who will be charged under an animal welfare regulation and could face up to five years in prison.
“We have had information about this for the past month, but only tonight were we able to thwart the transport of 226 dogs,” local police chief Irwan Anwar told reporters on Saturday night.
Indonesia is one of a handful of countries that still permit the sale of dog and cat meat, but a campaign against the practice has been gaining ground, with some cities including Semarang imposing local bans on the trade in recent years.
Irwan said according to his department’s preliminary investigation, the dogs were on their way to the neighbouring city of Surakarta, where they would have been slaughtered and their meat sold for consumption in western Java.
Last year, a notorious Indonesian animal market in Sulawesi ended the sale of dog and cat meat after years of activist pressure to halt the trade and its brutal methods of slaughter. — AFP
