The Indonesian Government doesn’t put a lot of energy into protecting animal welfare, with constant reports about the horrific conditions at local zoos or the cruel slaughter of dogs for food having had done little to change official regulations. But more and more Indonesians are becoming concerned with animal rights and speaking out against abuses on social media, such as the recent case of a cow getting dragged by law enforcement officers in South Sulawesi.
On Wednesday, the Satpol PP (Civil Service Police) in Bulukumba, South Sulawesi, were called upon to round up five cows that had escaped their enclosure and were running around the city’s streets. Police said the cow’s owner was fined IDR1 million (US$70) for violating the law on livestock management and had to pay the fine before the cows were returned.
But a Facebook user by the name of Muhammad Irham took a video supposedly showing one of the cows that had been tied to and was dragged by a Satpol PP truck. He posted the video and photos of the act of animal cruelty to a Facebook group for residents of Bulukumba, after which it quickly attracted a number of comments from outraged netizens and was shared by a number of other Facebook pages.
In his post, Muhammad wrote: “This is how the Satpol PP treats and animal they’ve secured? They have no mercy, even though its an animal it must be pitied. They just tied it up to a patrol car and dragged it, even until it was bleeding.”
Photos, presumably taken after the video, showed the cow having collapsed on the road behind the truck. Its exact fate is unknown but presumably it was eventually returned to its owner along with the other cows as reported by the police.
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A local news portal, Investigasi News, said they had contacted the Bulukumba Satpol PP yesterday for their comment on the incident. The responding officer said that it had been done in accordance with procedure but refused to elaborate and told the journalist they would need to come to their office for further explanation.
Under Indonesia’s criminal code, animal abuse is punishable by up to three months in prison, as well as a paltry fine of IDR4,500 (US$0.33), which would have been plenty in the Dutch colonial era (when the criminal code was originally drawn up) but that would barely buy you a bottle of water these days. Activists have long called for tougher punishments for animal abuse in Indonesia.
Sadly, this is not even the first video about people’s total disregard for animal welfare to go viral in Indonesia this week. A clip showing a visitor to the Bandung Zoo tossing a cigarette at an orangutan, who then proceeded to puff on it like a seasoned addict, made international headlines and highlighted the deplorable conditions and lack of supervision at many Indonesian zoos. Police say they were investigating that incident.
