Dogs, rats, bats and monkeys at Indonesia´s gruesome food market

Is this the world's most gruesome food market? Dogs, rats, bats and monkeys among the animals roasted WHOLE in Indonesia

• Dogs are flamed-roasted whole at Tomohon Traditional market in Indonesia
• Before being killed by hanging from a tree, the dogs are kept in tiny cages
• They are made to watch other dogs being killed, butchered and roasted 
• Elsewhere on the market, rats, cats, monkeys and bats are killed for meat
• Dead animals are laid out on tables, with pained expressions on their faces

By JOHN HALL

PUBLISHED: 11:31 GMT, 27 February 2014 | UPDATED: 15:59 GMT, 27 February 2014

 
 
 

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These are the shocking images of a gruesome food market where dogs are strangled by rope for food and customers can purchase whole flame-roasted animals.

The Tomohon Traditional market in North Sulawesi, Indonesia sells whole monkeys, bats, cats, dogs, pigs, rats, sloths and even giant pythons laid out on tables with painful expressions still etched on their faces.

The macabre food stalls were witnessed by Oman-based photographer and blogger, Raymond Walsh, 44, who said it was easier to witness the dead and mutilated animals than it was to see the living dogs in cages awaiting their fate.

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

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Awaiting their fate: These dogs are kept in cramped cages for hours before they are eventually hung by a rope and flame roasted whole at a meat market in Indonesia

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Grisly: The blackened bodies of dozens of dogs sit on a table in Tomohon Traditional market in North Sulawesi

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Brutal: The dogs' flame-roasted bodies are curled up on a floor covered in blood at the Indonesian market

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Sad: Not only is this dog likely to be turned into meat, it is also chained to the floor of a cramped cage, leaving it barely able to move in the hours before its death

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Bloody: Most of the killing and butchery at the market takes place in view of the public. The result is harrowing

Mr Walsh said: 'It was typical of a lot of local markets in the developing world - lots of fruit, vegetables and fish. The only difference was the sheer number of dead animals for sale.'

On his blog www.manonthelam.com, he describes the harrowing sight of dogs in cages with their dead counterparts lying on a table nearby.

 

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'It was easier to stomach the entrails of monkeys, rats on a stick and decapitated pigs than it was to see those live dogs awaiting their fate,' he said.

'The other animals seem foreign but I have friends who have dogs.'

 

Not for the faint-hearted. Dogs and rats on sale in market

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The Tomohon Traditional market in North Sulawesi, Indonesia sells whole monkeys, bats, cats, dogs (pictured), pigs, rats, sloths and even giant pythons laid out on tables with painful expressions still etched on their faces

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The macabre food stalls were witnessed by Oman-based photographer and blogger, Raymond Walsh, 44

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Scary: These terrifying and charred remains of a bat will be used in traditional Indonesian cooking

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Mr Walsh said Tomohon was typical of a lot of local markets in the developing world with lots of fruit, vegetables and fish. The only difference was the sheer number of dead animals for sale, including these rats

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The Oman-based professional photographer said he found the sight of dead dogs particularity harrowing

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Would you eat one? Roasted rats are piled up on a table inside Tomohon Traditional market in Indonesia

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Skewered: The rats are flame-roasted on sticks after being killed by having their heads thumped against a tree

Although the market's dead dogs may be difficult for westerners to look at, Mr Walsh points to the different cultures and attitudes towards the animals in South East Asia.

'Put simply, Westerners see dogs solely as pets. Indonesians see them as both pets and as sources of meat - it's just how we're raised,' he said.

In the photographs, many of the animals are stiff and completely black with a haunting pained expressions on their faces.

'After they are killed the animals are roasted over a fire, so the fur burns off, the skin tightens and peels back, causing that 'screaming' look,' Mr Walsh explained.

'How they are killed depends on the animal. Cats, monkeys, and sloths are shot. Bats and rats have their heads clobbered against a tree or table. Pigs are stabbed with a sharp piece of wood or metal,' he added.

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Bats are just one of the animals sold as meat at the market. Mr Walsh says are killed by having their heads 'clobbered' against a tree

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When asked to describe the smell, Mr Walsh said: 'In a word, appalling. There's something about the air that changes when there's that much death around'

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Although the market's dead dogs may be difficult for westerners to look at, Mr Walsh points to the different cultures and attitudes towards the animals in South East Asia

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In the photographs, many of the animals are stiff and completely black with a haunting pained expressions on their faces. On the left is a roasted monkey, while the animals on the right are dead rats

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Painful: Dead dogs and snakes can be seen all over the market, many with gaping wounds on their burnt bodies

'Wild boars are killed as they as they are trapped. Snakes are slashed with a knife or have their heads cut off. Dogs are strangled with a rope,' Mr Walsh went on.

When asked to describe the smell, Mr Walsh said: 'In a word, appalling. There's something about the air that changes when there's that much death around.' 

'It hangs heavy and it made me queasy and light-headed at the same time... It's the first time I'd ever encountered anything like it,' he added.