By Neil Trent
Is there a better way?
The apparent simplicity of the question belies its power, especially in places
where age-old customs prevail. In Indonesia, where nearly nine out of every
ten citizens are Muslim, livestock have long been slaughtered under the
dictates of Halal law, which forbids the stunning of animals before they are
destroyed. The practice of shackling live animals by a hind leg and cutting
their throats may have continued indefinitely had somebody not asked the magic
question. Now a ripple effect is transforming agricultural practices across
the islands of the world’s fourth most populous country.
You could say Indonesia’s efforts to transform its slaughtering methods
grew from its desire to break up the pack – the packs of dogs who roam the
city of Denpasar.
About three years ago on the island of Bali, home to a majority Hindu
culture, Humane Society International began working with animal welfare
advocates in Denpasar to tackle the city’s stray dog problem. The animals are
not strays in the traditional Western sense; while the pooches are not owned
by any one person, each banjar, or village, considers the wandering wags part
of the community. So the Bali Street Dog Foundation (Yudisthera) has to walk a
delicate line here: The veterinary teams spay, neuter, and treat these
frequently sickly animals, but they never attempt to take the animals from the
streets.
The foundation’s combination of sterilization, treatment, and public
education has already made an impact. Tourism officials in Bali, a popular
destination for international travelers, say public complaints about diseased
dogs begging for scraps has declined noticeably. While no one is ready to
claim the street dog problem licked, local officials were happy enough with
the results in Denpasar to listen sympathetically when we brought another
issue to their attention: the stockyards, notorious for their cruel
conditions.
No Place for Man or Beast
The conditions in Bali slaughterhouses are unfathomable to Americans. The
problems with processing livestock there go far beyond a failure to stun
animals. The cattle are transported to slaughter in trucks not designed for
the job, which means that countless animals suffer cuts, bruises, and broken
legs before even stepping off the truck.
Yet the problems are only beginning; at the slaughterhouse, workers tie
ropes around an animal’s hind legs and yank the scared and angry cow to the
ground, a brutal process that frequently injures both cattle and handlers.
From there, assuming the cow hasn’t struggled back to his feet, the prostrate
animal is hoisted by a hind leg with a chain and may remain suspended in the
air for five minutes, kicking and vocalizing the entire time. Finally, a
worker, likely with a rusty knife, will saw at the animal’s throat, and the
dressing process will begin, meat and fecal matter freely mixing in the
tropical heat. And because there is little to no refrigeration in Indonesia,
the freshly slaughtered meat will be quickly thrown on the back of trucks for
distribution in local markets.
Needless to say, this process would not pass muster with the USDA.
Enter the University of Bristol in Great Britain. Already familiar with the
pioneering work of Bristol’s School of Veterinary Science in improving
economic returns by improving the conditions for livestock, HSI invited the
school’s experts to Bali to eyeball the problem.
The Bristol scientists brought their video cameras into the stockyards and
slaughterhouses in Denpasar, and documented prevailing conditions and
practices. They analyzed everything from the local market dynamics to methods
of advertising. They took all the information and compiled a detailed,
split-screen PowerPoint presentation in the local language: one side showing
how things were currently done and the other how they could be improved.
Their aim was not to impose Western values or to pave the way for factory
farming and high-speed, industrial slaughterhouses. Indeed, the scientists
showed the utmost respect for community farms and rural economies. They simply
succeeded in producing a slight shift in perspective among people who had
grown accustomed to doing business a certain way.
The trick to winning over Denpasar officials was to appeal not only to
their better natures, but also to their pocketbooks. The Bristol scientists
effectively demonstrated that subjecting animals to brutal treatment, from
transportation to slaughter, damages carcasses, which in turn leads to meat
that’s prone to rotting as well as to hides unfit for commercial use. In
addition, the scientists showed that dressing carcasses amid fecal matter
increases the risk of E. coli and other diseases.
Island Hopping
When word of the cost-effective reforms in Bali reached Indonesia’s
Agriculture Ministry in Jakarta, officials from the capital paid a visit to
the neighboring island. This gave everyone pause. Predominantly Hindu Bali was
one thing. But would the new practices clash with the Muslim dictates of Halal?
The government officials arrived with refreshingly open minds. The Bristol
team, once again, trotted out the PowerPoint presentation and showed Jakarta’s
ag experts that they could easily implement measures to enhance meat quality
and profits. Looking to expand agricultural exports, the experts were eager to
sign on, and they arranged a conference to begin the work of overhauling the
nation’s agriculture sector.
After two days of workshops, the participants drafted a new code of
practices for the humane transport and slaughter of livestock. It was a
tremendous start to an ambitious three-year program. The government has
already announced another round of workshops and this time wants to include
sessions addressing the country’s poultry industry, which has been devastated
by avian flu.
The key to making the program work is something we call the “dream team,” a
group of skilled Indonesian workers who understand the benefits of a more
humane system and spread the word from village to village. The “word,” we’ve
learned, goes down much easier when fed by residents, not foreigners.
This will be especially true as Muslims in Indonesia grapple with the
concept of stunning. Halal laws are interpreted differently by different
people, but some in Indonesia believe that a non-penetrating captive bolt
pistol, which would not damage the cow’s skull and brain but would render the
animal unconscious, may earn the Halal stamp of approval.
Clearly, great challenges lie ahead in implementing reforms in an
archipelago nation comprising thousands of islands scattered like pieces of a
jigsaw puzzle across the Indian and Pacific oceans. But the Indonesians are
proving beyond any doubt that: Yes, there is a better way. |
