A Marine Corps officer stationed in a gated military complex in Bandung, Indonesia, has slain local stray cats that made their home on the premises. It prompted animal rights organizations to complain to several high-profile people and army officers against what it called the “brutal and nonsense” treatment of stray cats by military personnel. “We received pictures and videos of cats gunned down, some survived with broken jaws,” said cat shelter Rumah Singgah Clow in their viral Instagram post.
Without a doubt, several animal rights organizations and Indonesian social media personalities condemned the infamous slay. Shortly, people joined the anger bandwagon. It is even noticed by West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, numerous congressmen and public officials.
“May this be a lesson so that we can be better at treating the fellow creatures of God. Hope things like this never happen again in the future.” Governor Kamil said in a short statement.
Head of the First Commission of the Indonesian People’s Representative Council (DPR RI) Meutya Hafid expressed her concern with this situation. “First, it is absolutely wrong, cats are God’s creatures, they are not to be killed. And, if you can’t love them, at least don’t hurt or kill them.” DPR RI then to summon TNI next week in Jakarta.
Animal right group AHS Indonesia even carried out a mass rally to call out animal abuse done by the Indonesian military at the weekly Car-Free Day event in Dago, Bandung, last Sunday. Supported by fellow activists, the successful rally attracted even more public and media attention. Unpad Street Feeding and other student groups decided to not participate in the rally.
Damage Limitation
The notorious slay had sparked widespread public outcry. Afraid of losing their popularity among the Indonesian people, Indonesian National Armed Forces HQ (Mabes TNI) moved quickly. The Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces General Andhika Perkasa rushed his team to order an investigation. It took them less than 3 days to find out. The TNI soon issued a press release regarding the issue.
TNI HQ said the killer, NA — a brigadier general from the Marine Corps — annoyed with the presence of the cats and decided to shoot some stray cats using his own air rifles, as they were ‘causing inconvenience’ in the area, according to the press release. The shootings itself were not driven by the hatred of cats — which is, for some, questionable by many.
Awaiting Trial
Shortly, NA admitted. He has not yet appeared in public while people demand a public apology. It is also yet to be known that Gen. NA already know the law aspects and consequences of his act. Citing laws under which the killing of animals in this manner is a crime, as written in Undang-Undang (UU) №18 Tahun 2009 and UU №41 Tahun 2014 in Animal Husbandry and Animal Welfare Act. The TNI didn’t inform whether he is now in detention or not.
The people aren’t happy enough. Apparently Rumah Singgah Clow created a Change.org petition campaign to put pressure on the TNI asking a maximum jail sentence for NA. At the time of this writing, 19,706 people have signed the petition.
Not The First Time
Looking back, this is not the first time the TNI-Polri abused street animals. Animal Defenders Indonesia noted that there have been two incidents of animal abuse by the TNI in the last few months. “Several animal abuses were carried out by TNI-Polri members,” said Founder and Chairman of Animal Defenders Indonesia, Doni Herdaru Tona. “The most recent are Sorong Lantamal navy officer who punched a stray cat and officer of the South Sumatran Army who took selfies with the dogs they shot,” Doni added.
In December 2021, a TNI officer went viral for posting photos in front of a dog that was allegedly shot by him. The photo was accompanied by the caption ‘headshot’. Kapendam II/Sriwijaya Lieutenant Colonel Jono Marjono said the dog that was shot by the TNI turned out to be a local stray dog. He added, the stray dog need to be killed since its presence had worried the local residents. The TNI personnel claimed to protect the residents from potential stray dog attacks.
Oh, how trigger-happy someone can be.