Illegal Dog Meat Slaughterhouse Large-Scale RAID: 52 Pups SAVED!

Dozens of dogs are now free from getting killed, thanks to a group of rescuers!

53 dogs were spotted in a terrible condition outside an illegal slaughterhouse in Java, Indonesia. According to PEOPLE, they were tied up in sacks and wore muzzles in the back of a truck.

Police officers and animal rescuers from Dog Meat Free Indonesia stopped the delivery truck and saved the poor animals. In a video shared by Humane Society International, the terrified pups were whimpering in fear and crying for help when authorities opened the back of the vehicle. The canines were malnourished and under the age of one, per reports.

As per People, the rescue effort marks Indonesia's first large-scale raid on an illegal dog meat slaughterhouse. An unnamed person, believed to be working in the dog meat trade for over two decades, was arrested for the crime.

The rescuers from Dog Meat Free Indonesia released the dogs from their bindings and provided emergency vet treatment to them. They also transported the pups to a temporary shelter and will stay there until they fully recover. Unfortunately, one animal died from the abuse.

Lola Webber, one of the rescuers, shared her experience when they saved the dogs. She said she could hear their "pitiful whimpering" as they approached the vehicle.

“My heart was pounding in my chest as we approached the truck because I could hear the dogs' pitiful whimpering and then saw them all tied up in sacks, their soft muzzles squeezed shut with wire," she told the Daily Mail.

She continued, “They were extremely traumatized and frightened. We got there just in the nick of time because the killing usually happens in the early hours. We are immensely grateful to the authorities for taking action."

Webber also revealed that some of the dogs were stolen as they were "still wearing collars, and were no doubt many miles from home."

She added, "They will have endured the most horrific and terrifying journey, thrown in the back of a truck to be taken to this disgusting and filthy slaughterhouse where they would have been bludgeoned over the head and their throats cut. To think of the fear they must have endured is just devastating."

A non-profit organization, FOUR PAWS, which works globally to end animal suffering, commented on the issue. They are hopeful that this rescue is a "turning point" for Indonesia's illegal dog meat trade.

"The shocking and criminal events that we have witnessed as well as the positive actions taken by the Sukoharjo authorities must be a turning point in fighting against this outlawed, outdated, and cruel trade," Dr. Karanvir Kukreja, the head of public campaigns Southeast Asia for FOUR PAWS' Ending the Dog and Cat Meat Trade campaign, said in a statement.

He added, "The positives we can take out of this awful situation are that law enforcement and campaign groups are ensuring that this illegal trade is coming to an end. For traders, there will be no place left to hide to continue their criminal practices in the very near future."