In 2022, a PETA investigator visited five Indonesian puppy mills. What investigators uncovered should persuade anyone not to support the abusive, profit-driven pet trade. See the undercover footage for yourself—then urge Indonesian e-commerce company Tokopedia to stop selling animals. What you’re about to see is completely legal.
Caged Dogs Suffering From Psychological Distress
Investigators visited puppy mills that ship puppies to many parts of Indonesia, including to pet stores in its capital, Jakarta. At all five mills investigators entered, dogs were kept in miserably small, dilapidated, filthy cages. They usually had to stand and lie on bare dirt, crumbling wood, concrete, or painful wire mesh that cut into their sensitive paw pads. The sides of the cages usually consisted of metal bars or wire, and many dogs had nothing overhead to protect them from the elements.
Some wire cages were piled on top of one another, while other enclosures were covered with tarps, reducing the dogs’ world to a couple of square feet—dark, lonely, and isolated. Investigators filmed three dogs crammed into a cage that was about as wide as a dresser drawer. The animals climbed the sides and yelped in vain. Another dog paced incessantly in his concrete and metal cell, a sign of psychological distress. Many cried and wailed.
"The dogs at this facility engage in constant pacing, barking, jumping and wall bouncing, which are abnormal, stereotypical behaviors caused by boredom, anxiety, and a failure to meet the physical and psychological needs of the dogs." — Dr. Ingrid Taylor, D.V.M.
The dogs’ enclosures and even food bowls were often dirty with feces. At mills where breeders did clean the cages, they didn’t bother to take the dogs out first, forcing them to stand or lie in puddles.The dogs’ enclosures and even food bowls were often dirty with feces. At mills where breeders did clean the cages, they didn’t bother to take the dogs out first, forcing them to stand or lie in puddles
According to Dr. Ingrid Taylor, a veterinary expert who reviewed the footage, “The unsanitary environment not only causes suffering and health risks to the dogs but is also a public health risk, as many forms of bacteria and parasites that spread between dogs can also spread to humans.”
Dogs Without Food or Water, Struggling to Walk, Frightened and Abused
The animals had little to no access to food or water. Some drank the water off the floor when their cages were sprayed. At least one husky’s hind legs appeared to be disabled, making every step difficult. When a breeder at one facility raised his hand over a Rottweiler, the dog recoiled and cowered in fear, a likely indicator of prior physical abuse. The breeder then dragged the dog out of the cage and across the ground by the front paws.
Held Down and Assisted to Breed
At one facility, the investigator watched two breeders immobilize a female pug, guide a male pug on top of her, and hold them together until they mated. The dogs, known as “breathing-impaired breeds,” will likely churn out litter after litter of puppies bred to have deformed, flattened faces and airways that make it hard for them to play, run, walk, or even breathe.
Urge Tokopedia to Stop Selling Dogs
Dogs from these operations and others like them are sold online by retailers such as Tokopedia and then shipped across the country. Buying a “purebred” dog or cat online or from a breeder or pet store not only funds cruelty to animals but also robs an animal waiting in a shelter of a chance at finding a home.
Please, join us in urging Tokopedia to get out of the abusive, greed-driven pet trade. And pledge to adopt, not buy, companion animals.