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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
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
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.

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