Yahoo – AFP,
Haeril HALIM, July 11, 2020
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Indonesian doctor Susana Somali started confronting butchers after seeing a video of a pregnant dog about to be slaughtered (AFP Photo/ADEK BERRY) |
Indonesian
doctor Susana Somali and her staff cut tightly-bound plastic ropes off dozens
of whimpering dogs rescued from the butcher's block after being sold or
abandoned during the coronavirus pandemic.
Somali's
sprawling Jakarta complex, home to about 1,400 canines, has become a refuge for
at-risk animals as cash-strapped owners sell them into the Southeast Asian
nation's controversial dog meat trade.
Mostly
acting on tip-offs, Somali and her team hit the streets looking for stray dogs
and butcher shops where more and more doomed animals are spending their last
days howling in cramped cages.
Somali --
who juggles a day job testing COVID-19 samples at a local hospital -- started
the shelter in an upscale Jakarta neighbourhood more than a decade ago.
Back then,
she rescued one or two dogs from a butcher each week. But that number has
soared to as many as 20 in recent months as strays are snatched off the streets
for their meat.
The
55-year-old mother of two negotiates with often unfriendly butchers, sometimes
paying them cash or supplying other meat to secure the animals' release.
"The
real battle isn't rescuing them from butchers, although that is always scary.
The challenge is taking care of these dogs during the pandemic," Somali
said.
'Tears in
her eyes'
Somali and
about 30 staff at Pejaten Animal Shelter are struggling to care for a huge
number of animals as donations plunge in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The money
is crucial to help cover upwards of $29,000 in monthly expenses, including
employee salaries and the daily cost of half a tonne of meat for the animals.
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Somali's
sprawling Jakarta rescue complex is home to about 1,400 dogs
(AFP Photo/ADEK
BERRY)
|
Myriad
breeds, including huskies, pit bulls, and German shepherds, roam the 5,000
square metre (54,000 square foot) shelter, which Somali started in 2009.
She started
confronting butchers after seeing a video of a pregnant dog about to be
slaughtered.
"Someone
posted images of this crying dog on social media and I saw the tears in her
eyes," she said.
"That's
when I became aware of the butchers."
Somali and
her team rescued dozens of puppies bound for a local Korean eatery this month,
but they don't always make it in time.
"I
tried to reach the area but was told that the dog had already been (killed),"
she said of one recent dash to a butcher's shop.
"It
was a minute too late."
Animal
welfare groups estimate as many as one million dogs are killed annually across
Indonesia, with more than 100 restaurants in Jakarta alone serving their meat,
according to government figures.
Dog is
often a culinary speciality among Indonesia's non-Muslim minority groups.
The animals
are considered unclean in Islam and rarely kept as pets in Muslim-majority
countries.
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Somali and
her team rescued dozens of puppies bound for a local Korean
eatery this month
(AFP Photo/ADEK BERRY)
|
Indonesia
is relatively relaxed by comparison, but working at the shelter can still be
tricky for Muslim volunteers like Ria Rosalina.
"Many
people have asked me why I take care of dogs but also wear hijab," she
said, referring to the religious head-covering worn by many Indonesian women.
"But I
don't care. I just tell them that dogs were created by God, just like
humans."
Snatched
and killed
The plight
of Indonesia's dogs isn't limited to the megacity capital.
Animal
welfare organisation Four Paws has warned that thousands of strays in Bali were
at risk of starving or being snatched by dog meat traders, as a plunge in
tourism hammers the holiday island.
It is also
a growing problem in other parts of Southeast Asia as traders prey on owners
facing hard economic times, said Katherine Polak, a veterinarian with Four
Paws.
"Animals
are at a very heightened risk," she said.
"Some
low-income people might be tempted to sell their pets."
For years,
activists have called on the government to halt Indonesia's dog meat market --
a goal shared by Somali.
"Ending
the dog meat trade may sound like a dream but everything starts from a
dream," the shelter owner said.
"I'll always keep fighting."