Animal rights campaigner Lola Webber, 39, from London, rescued four dogs moments away from being bludgeoned to death for meat from an extreme Indonesian animal market, where they were being sold for as little as £5.

A British woman is being praised for saving four innocent dogs from a horrific murder at a cruel animal market in Indonesia.

Lola Webber, 39, rescued the pups moments before they were due to be bludgeoned to death for meat and sold for just £5.

Originally from London, Lola is an animal rights campaigner and director at Humane Society International, currently living in Bali with her family and rescue dogs.

On the early morning of March 26, Lola’s team arrived at Tomohon Extreme market, on the island of Sulawesi, with the aim of saving as many dogs as possible.

But there was only one cage remaining with four dogs left alive – the blowtorched bodies of their cage mates were already on sale.

Lola told The Mirror : “They were skinny, small and all just young pups really, and beyond terrified, shaking and desperately hiding behind each other. One was so sick he couldn’t lift his head up.

Lola successfully carried the cage of four dogs to safety 

“The wooden bat used to beat them unconscious rested threateningly on top of the cage.

“We were able to secure the release of the dogs and I tried to offer them comfort through the bars, but they had only ever experienced abuse by humans and weren’t able to trust me.

“We carried the cage of dogs out of the market, with very heavy hearts, relieved to be leaving with them but feeling overwhelmingly sad for those who have lost their lives there.”

They watched their fellow cage mates be blowtorched to death

The dogs were taken to a shelter run by Animal Friends Manado Indonesia (AFMI), which cares for over 100 animals, including those rescued from the dog and cat meat trade.

Sadly, despite best efforts from the vets, one of the sick dogs – named Tomm Tomm – died a week after his rescue, “surrounded by love rather than at the hands of the butchers”.

The other three pups are on a slow road to recovery and Lola hopes they will eventually be rehomed to live the lives they deserve.

The surviving pups have been taken in by an animal rescue

Lola has been working on campaigns with the Dog Meat Free Indonesia coalition in Asia since 2009, and remembers her first experience at a live animal market in Seol, South Korea.

She said: “It was freezing cold and there were dogs huddled together in cages trying to keep warm. It was one of the saddest places I had ever been, and I felt totally helpless.

“I knelt down in front of one of the cages and a beautiful Jindo dog leaned against me and licked my hand.

One sick dog couldn’t recover and died a week later

“I made a promise to her that she would never be forgotten and that in her honour, I would never give up until the dog meat trades ended.

“And it is a promise I have every intention of keeping.”

Having witnessed hundreds of dogs and cats caged, sold and slaughtered, Lola always saves those she can.

She added: “People often ask us when we visit dog meat farms, slaughterhouses and markets, ‘How do you go to places like that?’ – but going to these places is the easy part.

Lola proudly leads the End Dog Meat campaign

“It is walking away from so much suffering that is the hardest. And once you have seen that kind of cruelty, it is impossible to forget.”

Lola explains that dog meat is not an expensive delicacy and a dish can be bought at a market for roughly £2.

It is mostly eaten by certain ethnic groups, such as the Minahasa people of North Sulawesi, where there are 24 markets collectively selling around 360 live and slaughtered dogs per day.

Some dogs are trafficked from as far away as Makassar, South Sulawesi’s capital, a 40-hour gruelling journey in the heat with no food, water or rest.

Her team will not stop until the inhumane suffering ends

Lola said: “It never gets any easier seeing animals like this and seeing the absolute indifference to their suffering by the traders.

“To us, these animals mean so much, but to the traders, they have a price, usually around £5 – £10.

“Thankfully, we are now seeing incredible progress being made, with an ever-growing number of countries, territories, cities and regencies throughout Asia banishing these trades to the history books.

“It is these kinds of victories, and the animals we can save, that keep us going!”

Humane Society International is a leading member of the DMFI

Across Asia, opposition to the dog and cat meat trade is increasing, with Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand and two major cities in mainland China banning the trade in and slaughter.

Lola added: “Our work is entirely funded by the generosity of donors and it truly does save lives, and ends the cycle of suffering so that future generations will never have to suffer at the hands of dog meat traders.”

If you would like to support the work of Humane Society International, you can donate to their page and write to Indonesia’s president calling for action.