Indonesian dog meat market gone, but tighter laws needed to cull trade: ‘the cruelty is obscene’

Following the closure of the notorious Beriman market, activists say officials must now address ‘weak law enforcement’

But locals say a taste for anything with four legs means the practice will live on in Sulawesi, ‘the epicentre’ of Indonesia’s dog and cat meat trade

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Members of anti-animal cruelty group Humane Society International rescue dogs from a slaughterhouse in Tomohon, North Sulawesi. Photo: AP

Published: 2:00pm, 6 Aug 2023Updated: 9:00pm, 28 Aug 2023

Officially, the trade in dog meat at a notorious market on Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island was ended by authorities last month in a nationwide first, but locals say the deep-rooted tradition isn’t going anywhere.

A taste for anything with four legs means dogs and cats will continue to be bludgeoned, charred to death and consumed during neighbourhood feasts, according to Sulawesi residents.

Tomohon, a high-altitude city in North Sulawesi, can boast of scenic mountain views, vibrant fields of flowers and chilly, breezy weather. But it’s also home to the infamous Beriman market, an anything-goes place that travel guide Lonely Planet once described as “not for the faint-hearted”.

Visitors are greeted by the sight of slaughtered pigs hanging above butchers’ white-tiled counters, alongside rows of blowtorched bats and two-metre-long pythons suspended from hooks.

A dog is rescued from a slaughterhouse in Tomohon. The Humane Society International estimates some 130,000 dogs were killed annually at traditional markets across Sulawesi in recent years. Photo: AP

Dogs were once among them, but on July 21, a tall banner was unfurled declaring the trade over after years of campaigns by activists and global celebrities to cull the practice of slaughtering dogs and cats.

Indonesian dog meat market gone, but tighter laws needed to cull trade: ‘the cruelty is obscene’

Following the closure of the notorious Beriman market, activists say officials must now address ‘weak law enforcement’ But locals say a taste for anything with four legs means the practice will live on in Sulawesi, ‘the epicentre’ of Indonesia’s dog and cat meat trade

Following the closure of the notorious Beriman market, activists say officials must now address ‘weak law enforcement’

But locals say a taste for anything with four legs means the practice will live on in Sulawesi, ‘the epicentre’ of Indonesia’s dog and cat meat trade