Bali: COVID-19 Cripples Tourism — Starving Strays as a Consequence
Strays in Indonesia depend on the tourism industry as a food source — but due to current travel restrictions, thousands of animals are now going hungry. The global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS has launched a feeding project in Bali together with its local partner, the Bali Animal Welfare Association (BAWA).
Strays in Indonesia depend on the tourism industry as a food source — but due to current travel restrictions, thousands of animals are now going hungry. The global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS has launched a feeding project in Bali together with its local partner, the Bali Animal Welfare Association (BAWA).
The aim is to support hundreds of dogs and cats in 13 target regions. Countless stray animals on the otherwise popular island are currently fighting to survive on dried corn kernels. Through the feeding programme, FOUR PAWS is also ensuring that the strays are not captured and killed for the dog meat trade.
The new FOUR PAWS project employs two full-time feeding teams and will run until August 2020. Within the first three weeks, the teams have already distributed over 1’100 meals. Although the current focus of the project is on feeding the starving strays, the mobile teams also use their contact with the dogs and cats as an opportunity to provide medical care where needed. “Cancelled flights, lost jobs, the absence of expats and tourists, and closed restaurants have left the strays on the island without their food sources,” says Dr. Katherine Polak, Head of FOUR PAWS Stray Animal Care projects in Southeast Asia, adding: “Driven by hunger, the strays steal food or hunt and kill livestock. This often results in the dogs being poisoned or brutally killed.” Even after the end of the lockdown restrictions, FOUR PAWS will continue to support feeding programmes as well as vaccination and sterilisation projects for strays in Bali and in key regions of Southeast Asia.
Strays as victims of the brutal dog meat trade
Although regulations prohibit the consumption of dog meat, FOUR PAWS research shows that in Indonesia, an estimated over one million dogs are killed for their meat every year. A growing dog meat industry has also existed on Bali for years. Since many people in Indonesia are currently unemployed, FOUR PAWS fears that dog meat traders could exploit the current situation for their own profit, particularly during the absence of tourists. «As part of our feeding project, we also monitor dog thefts and work together with local communities. By providing both dogs and their owners with food, we ensure that the dogs remain within their communities. Stray dogs are easy prey. We must make sure that Bali’s dogs do not fall into the hands of dog meat traders,» says Dr. Polak. Such practices are a global animal welfare issue.
FOUR PAWS’ fight against the dog and cat meat trade
In order to sustainably put an end to the brutal trade in dog and cat meat in Southeast Asia, FOUR PAWS has launched a campaign at both international and national level. «Through awareness-raising efforts and cooperation with the responsible authorities and tourism associations, governments are to be encouraged to introduce strict animal welfare laws that prohibit the catching, slaughtering and eating of dogs and cats,» explains Dr. Karanvir Kukreja, project manager of the FOUR PAWS campaign. In addition, FOUR PAWS supports local animal welfare organisations and communities with humane and sustainable dog and cat population management programmes. FOUR PAWS is also part of the animal welfare coalitions DMFI (Dog Meat Free Indonesia) and ACPA (Asia Canine Protection Alliance), which lobby against the trade in Southeast Asia.
FOUR PAWS has also launched a petition against the dog and cat meat trade, which has already been signed by over 750’000 supporters worldwide:https://help.four-paws.org/de-CH/jetzt-den-handel-von-hunde-und-katzenfleisch-stoppen
