Indonesian woman devotes life to rescuing stray animals: Video
In Bogor Regency, West Java, dog lover Hesti Sutrisno runs a shelter that has become home to around 200 dogs and 50 cats rescued from the streets.
Sutrisno says her work began out of compassion. She explained that seeing animals scavenging for unsuitable food pushed her to act. After initially taking in stray cats, she began rescuing street dogs in 2018, a commitment she has maintained ever since.
Caring for such a large number of animals comes at a high cost. Sutrisno says the shelter consumes about 100 kilograms of rice a day, along with large quantities of chicken, to ensure the animals are fed. Managing these daily needs has become one of her biggest challenges.
To keep the shelter running, Sutrisno relies on selling crackers and receiving donations, adjusting her work to ensure food supplies do not run out. Indonesia continues to face widespread issues with stray animals, particularly in areas with limited access to veterinary care, though measures such as bans on the dog and cat meat trade and Trap-Neuter-Release programmes have been introduced in some regions.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
