INDONESIA
INDONESIA
A GENERAL OVERVIEW:
Indonesia is a tough place for our beloved fur-friends; there is little legal protection, animal abuse is rife and even those who do respect animals simply may not have the resources to ‘care’ for them.
All of this means, for an organization such as BARC, there is much work to be done!
Here are some of the situations we are dealing with:
DUMPINGS
BARC are constantly finding puppies and kittens in need everywhere; they are dumped at burial grounds, in market places, on the sides of busy roads, around the rice fields, etc. Often the team are called out for collection of newborns, or they may have bad skin conditions or be injured/abused animals.
We often arrive to see some dumped at the door of our facilities as well – tied to bricks, in boxes, bags or in the back of the pickup. There are numerous signs out the front of our facilities asking people to come back during the day, advising that we will assist with serialization and vaccination of their adult dogs along with finding homes for the puppies. Yet they are still there!
We are trying to teach people that dumping is not the solution to the over population problem in Bali. Females are the most common to be dumped as they are not considered guard dogs. This in turn leads to them breeding with the un-neutered male dogs, and a new generation of puppies born homeless on the streets.
NEGLECT & ABUSE
For many dogs in Bali, their survival is dependent on themselves. They live along side families in local compounds, taking their role of protecting their owners and home very seriously. They live on the streets and must find food and shelter where they can.
Dog ownership is very different to the western world. While those with homes are fed, although not always on a regular basis and sometimes water is not readily available. Some owners are on a friendly enough basis with their dogs and can touch them, but many are not. Some are tied to trees with no water, shade or food; they can be left there for days, weeks, even MONTHS on end.
Western breed dogs may be kept in small cages as trophies, sadly never getting a chance to run, stretch and play. Often these dogs are bred from to make money, similar to puppy milling in the western world.
When the family dog gets sick, many are left to die without any veterinary assistance. Although some may be dumped in another area at this stage so they are no longer a problem to the owner. Sadly many of these problems are an easy fix, but the owners just don’t realize. Often if the dog begins to ‘look bad’ they may not want them around any longer. For many Balinese families, the cost of vet care is either inaccessible or not a priority.
At BARC we educate as many locals as we can and feel it is very important to teach the children how to care for and respect animals, so that future generations can learn the joys of giving and receiving unconditional love and companionship for our beautiful four-legged friends.
Our Dog Squad is also actively working with authorities to try and stop animal abuse.