Musicians, actors and television personalities this week urged Indonesian President Joko Widodo to ban the “brutal” trade in dog and cat meat for human consumption. A letter from campaign group Dog Meat-Free Indonesia said Indonesia would improve its reputation and be “celebrated” if it joined other nations in banning the trade. “These animals, many of them stolen pets, are subjected to crude and brutal methods of capture, transport and slaughter, and the immense suffering and fear they must endure is heartbreaking,” the letter said. Cameron Diaz, Ellen DeGeneres, Ricky Gervais, Indonesian pop singer Anggun and musician Moby were among the celebrity backers.
What next: Dog meat is eaten by only a small percentage of Indonesia’s 250 million people. According to anti-animal cruelty groups, thousands of animals are blow-torched alive to remove their hair and bludgeoned before onlookers, including children, in North Sulawesi. After recent bad publicity, the Tomohon Extreme Market stopped the public slaughter, but video shot by campaigners showed dog carcasses still being delivered. AP – EP
Celebrities call on Indonesia to lose its taste for dog and cat meat
