THE WILDLIFE TRADE MONITORING GROUP

At a fruit bat trade shop in the Pancurbatu, Deli Serdang Regency in North Sumatra province, Scorpion visited some fruit bat shops. The investigators did not find skinning of fruit bat alive but indeed they were slaughtered in a cruel way. In the visit Scorpion witnessed the slaughtering and skinning of the fruit bats. After the slaughtering, the trader immediately skinned them before they were completely dying. It looked so cruel to the fruit bats.

The skinned bats are sold at the price between US$20 to US$25 depending on the size and sex. The price of male bats is a bit higher than the female.

According the fruit bat trader, the animals they were selling were coming from Aceh. These animals are increasingly rare in North Sumatra because they were hunted for decades. Most bats on sale in North Sumatra are captured in Aceh. 

According to this fruit bat trader, newly arrived fruit bats are usually immediately slaughtered at least one for family consumption. Because, the newly arrived bats taste much better compared to bats that have been received for days.

The demand for fruit bat meat in North Sumatra is high due to a myth which has been spread from mouth to mouth for a long time saying that consuming the meat of this animal can cure asthma. There has not been any research to prove this so far.