After being discovered in their truck backs, tied to sacks and arriving at an Indonesian slaughterhouse in Indonesia, dozens of dogs were saved from being made into dog meat.
Shocking video shows the moment police and animal campaigners intercepted the meat trader’s vehicle in Sukoharjo, on the Indonesian island of Java, and found 53 dogs whining and shaking in fear.
After a 10 hour long journey, the terrified animals, most of them stolen dogs with some still wearing collars were tied to their muzzles with cable and string ties.
Police stopped the truck at the illegal dog meat slaughterhouse in the morning hours. 30 dogs were being killed every day by the animal cruelty workers. The driver of the truck was also arrested.
Campaigners from Dog Meat Free Indonesia coalition found the dogs tied up in hessian sacks and most of the canines were emaciated, and less than one year of age. One dog succumbed during the 10-hour trip.
Following a difficult 10 hours journey they were finally found with their terrified pets, many of which still had collars on, tied to sacks with the muzzles tightened with string and cables.
Dog Meat Free Indonesia Campaigner inspects a rescue dog that was taken in by police during an interception of illegal dog meat transportation
As police stop an illegal dog meat transportation truck, a dog tied with his mouth and placed in a sack.
Lola Webber who was one the first activists on the scene said that the dogs were whimpering as she approached the truck.
‘My heart was pounding in my chest as we approached the truck, because I could hear the dogs’ pitiful whimpering and then saw them all tied up in sacks, their soft muzzles squeezed shut with wire,’ Webber, from the campaign group Humane Society International, said.
They were extremely scared and traumatized.
She said, “We reached our destination just in time. The killings usually take place in the morning.” Thank you so much to all the authorities.
As part of the nation’s first-ever large-scale raid on an illegal animal meat factory, Sukoharjo police had entered a Java dog trading operation to capture the suspect dog meat trader.
Before being transported in a truck for dog meat, dogs are placed in bags and taken to Sukohario in Central Java.
An activist comforts a dog that is bound in a sack at the back of a truck carrying meat traders.
Lola Webber, a campaigner helps to rescue Sukohario dogs trapped in illegal slaughterhouse transports
In Sukoharjo (on the Indonesian Island of Java), the vehicle belonging to the meat trader was seize.
This trader is alleged to have been in the middle of Java’s dog meat trade for more than twenty years.
The suspect is accused of organizing shipments of hundreds upon hundreds of dog slaughter each month and of killing an average of 30 dogs per day.
Webber said about the rescue: “Many of these dogs were still wearing collars and were no doubt many kilometers from home. These were most likely stolen pets taken from the streets.
“They’ll have suffered the most horrible and frightening journey. They will be thrown into a truck and taken to this filthy and disgusting slaughterhouse, where they would have their throats sliced and bludgeoned.
“This is the most devastating thing that could have happened to them.
Before being taken to the temporary shelter, 53 of the dogs were rescued from the animal slaughterhouse.
Lola Webber was one of the first to arrive on the scene and could clearly hear the dogs whining in the truck from her approach
Dogs taken from illegally transporting dog meat by police in Sukohario (Central Java) are now being transferred to shelters run by Dog Meat Free Indonesia and Humane Society International.
Before being transported back to their temporary shelter, 53 of the rescue dogs were given emergency treatment by the campaigners.
Although it is unlikely that the dogs will be reunited, campaigners have launched local appeals. If the dogs are not able to locate their owners they will be adopted by Indonesians, while others may be taken to Canada for adoption.
There is currently no ban in Indonesia on the trade of dog meat. The government has promised to clamp down on this trade but it is only regional governments who have taken any action.
Tarjono Sapto nugroho is the Head of Crime Investigation at Sukoharjo Police. He stated that there are many complaints regarding illegal dog meat trader operations. These people do not wish to see their local communities slaughtered or traded in illegal dog meat.
Dogs are not friends. The Islamic law makes it illegal to trade with dogs. Although dog meat is considered culture to some people, cultures can change as well.