WARNING: Distressing images
With the recent news of the Yulin Festival banning dog meat, it looks as though there are fresh concerns for animals being tortured for food.
Tourists in Bali, the island and province of Indonesia, are unknowingly being fed dog meat.
Not only are they being told it’s chicken, to make matters worse, the tourists are supporting a horrific trade which sees the animals abused and slaughtered.
Recent footage, shot by Animals Australia, shows how thousands of the animals are caught with nooses, causing them to suffocate.
They are then killed before being served to unsuspecting tourists on the popular island as chicken satay sticks.
Speaking to ABC, Lyn White from Animals Australia said:
When we embarked on this investigation, we didn’t have any idea that we would be documenting that dog meat is entering into tourist areas.
Talking about the appalling situation, Ms White continued:
We just know how deeply this will distress and shock tourists that have gone to Bali.
The disturbing footage, shown on ABC on Monday night, let viewers witness vendor’s approaching a group of Australian tourists at the popular Double Six Beach.
The vendor pitched, saying:
Just one dollar, satay chicken, not dog.
When an Animals Australia investigator approached the vendor just moments later asking what he was selling, he simply replied:
Dog satay.
During the four-month investigation dogs were reportedly bludgeoned, hanged by the throat until they died of asphyxiation or killed by having poison forced down their throats.
Ms White continued to talk about the horrific treatment of the animals and the effects it has on human consumption:
Poisoned meat is entering the food trade through the dog meat trade.
This is a profoundly distressing situation as not only is the suffering of the dogs horrifying, tourists are unwittingly fueling the trade.
Most tourists have no idea that the letters RW on the outside of street food stalls in Bali indicate that dog meat is being served and in addition, the dog meat vendors are deliberately targeting tourists and are prepared to lie about the origin of the meat.
Some people in Bali believe dog meat is a healthy alternative and its low cost has seen its popularity grow over the years.
Animals Australia are working to end the practice without ‘condemning’ the Balinese culture, Ms White said:
This is not about condemning a culture, it is about addressing unnecessary cruelty and seeking to transform a situation of unimaginable suffering into a positive outcome.
