Saved in the nick of time: A police officer checking on the rescued dogs in Semarang. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
POLICE named five people as suspects for allegedly smuggling more than 200 dogs bound for a slaughterhouse in Semarang, Central Java, raising calls from animal rights activists for a nationwide ban of dog meat consumption.
Last Saturday, Semarang Police personnel intercepted a truck filled with dogs that had their legs shackled and mouths bound.
At least 12 of them were found dead from poor health or asphyxiation, and eight suffered from severe injuries.
Five people in the vehicle, Donal Harianto, 43, Sulasno, 48, Ariyoto, 49, Wagimin, 62 and Ervan Yulianto, 29, were immediately arrested. The police later named them suspects in the case.
“They were sending the dogs to Sragen as requested by DH [Donal], the dog collector, who would send the animals to a slaughterhouse and later distribute the meat to several cities,” Semarang Police Chief Sr. Comr. Irwan Anwar said during a press briefing.
Sragen is home to several eateries that serve dog meat for human consumption.
According to a report issued in 2020 by NGO Dog Meat Free Indonesia (DMFI), nearly 14,000 dogs are slaughtered every year for consumption in the city.
During the press briefing, Donal told reporters that he had been in the dog trade business for 10 years, usually buying dogs for 250,000 rupiah (RM75) each from several suppliers in West Java, as reported by kompas.id.
He sold up to 400 dogs per month in Surakarta and its suburban areas, making between 14 million and 20 million rupiah (RM4,200 and RM6,000) in profit.
The police charged the five suspects with violating the 2009 law on animal husbandry, the animal health law and the Criminal Code. They are facing a maximum sentence of nine years in prison.
Most of the rescued dogs are currently housed in a temporary shelter in Semarang, while the injured ones are undergoing treatment in veterinary clinics. Volunteers and veterinarians also checked on their condition at the shelter. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
