After the coronavirus pandemic was linked to a live animal market in China’s Wuhan, and has literally turned the world upside down, people in Indonesia haven’t seemed to have learned a lesson yet. Reportedly, butchers gather at Indonesia’s most notorious animal market and continue to slaughter bats, snakes, rats and lizards six days a week even now.
Bats Are Reportedly Back On The Menu In Indonesia
The Tohomon Market in Indonesia is known for the cruel ways in which animals are slaughtered in its markets. The animals are brought in from the Sulawesi island and are killed before they arrive at the market. Dogs, however, are reportedly kept alive in cages as there is a high demand for ‘fresh’ dog meat. The market is also notorious for kidnapping pets.
Apart from that, the market encourages bushmeat trade, which involves killing and selling meat of wild animals. The market sells pythons, monitor lizards, whitetail rats, wild boars and rice-field frogs. And now reportedly, bats have made it back on the menu again. Sigh!
When fear of the coronavirus struck the country, Tohomon city officials cut the market’s working hours in half as per rules. The local officials and residents running the market had even been repeatedly urged by the country’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry to close the markets; however, they turned down their requests and continue to sell wildlife meat till date.
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Consuming Bats Is An Age-Old Tradition In Indonesia
Apparently, consuming wild meat in Indonesia is an age-old tradition. Locals believe a few of the animal meats have medicinal properties in them. They also believe that bats can cure ‘asthma’. In fact, bat meat and snake meat make up for the staple diet of the Indonesian people and are so popular that it is even sold in supermarkets.
Animal activists have been trying their best for years now to get rid of the ‘Tohomon Extreme Market’. And many have been urging the local authorities to stop! However, even as they hope that people will learn from the current situation, they know that there will be a public outcry if the market is shut down as it is a matter of tradition for them.
Meanwhile, Indonesia is still struggling with the control of the coronavirus pandemic. The country has recorded a total of 15, 438 cases along with 1,028 deaths, making it the second-highest fatality rate in East Asia after China.
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