KUPANG, Indonesia, March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A dog slaughterhouse and a dog meat restaurant in Indonesia's Nusa Tenggara Timur province, which between them slaughtered or served up dogs for more than 45 years, have closed for good as part of an initiative to end the dog meat trade in the country.
Ten dogs found alive at the slaughterhouse were rescued. Following quarantine they will be available for local adoption.
Humane World for Animals and Jakarta Animal Aid Network launched their Models for Change program in NTT province, a dog meat and rabies hotspot. Thousands of dogs annually are stolen, trafficked or sold into the trade. As well as being cruel, this mass movement of dogs helps spread deadly rabies. Models for Change directly contributes to the government's goal of making NTT rabies-free by 2030.
Julie Sanders, Humane World for Animals' campaign director, said: "Every business that shuts down as part of Models for Change represents a tangible step toward eliminating the cruel dog meat trade, safeguarding animal welfare and protecting communities from the risk of rabies."
Slaughterhouse owner Mr. Petrus Boly, who will open a convenience store, said: "When I think about the thousands of dogs I killed in the last 15 years, it makes me sad. I'm very happy to be moving out of the trade. Dog slaughter is dangerous due to the risk of rabies so this opportunity came at the right time in my life."
Karin Franken, JANN director, said: "These closures demonstrate that if financial and business support is provided, people are willing and keen to move out of the cruel and dangerous dog meat trade."
Download photos/video HERE.
About Humane World for Animals
Together, we tackle the root causes of animal cruelty and suffering to create permanent change. With millions of supporters and work happening in over 50 countries, Humane World for Animals—formerly called the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International—addresses the most deeply entrenched forms of animal cruelty and suffering. As the leading voice in the animal protection space, we work to end the cruelest practices, care for animals in crisis and build a stronger animal protection movement. Driving toward the greatest global impact, we aim to achieve the vision behind our name: a more humane world. humaneworld.org
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Program launched in Indonesia to help end the dog meat trade by finding traders alternative livelihoods
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Developer-favorite desktop robot now available to more consumers worldwide through AliExpress Anniversary Sale
LOS ANGELES, March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Reachy Mini, the open-source desktop robot that has captivated the developer community, is now available to global consumers on AliExpress, coinciding with the platform's Anniversary Sale promotion. This extension marks an important step in expanding Reachy Mini beyond the open-source developer community to a broader consumer audience across key markets including the United States, Europe, South Korea, Japan and Brazil.
Developed within the Hugging Face ecosystem, a leading open-source AI platform, Reachy Mini is a flagship embodied AI project designed for human-AI interaction, creative coding, and hands-on experimentation. Reachy Mini has earned strong recognition among AI researchers and developers worldwide. Now, through AliExpress, the robot is becoming more broadly accessible to consumers interested in exploring the next wave of AI-powered robotics.
The addition of Reachy Mini reflects AliExpress' broader push to attract innovative technology products and brands. Seeed Studio, the hardware manufacturing partner behind Reachy Mini, selected AliExpress as its consumer market launchpad.
"AliExpress has made a strong commitment to supporting premium hard tech products, which aligns perfectly with Seeed Studio's mission," said Joey Jiang, VP of Global Sales and Marketing at Seeed Studio. "As an open-source hardware provider focused on emerging technologies, we have built a technology ecosystem based on open-source hardware, AI-driven capabilities, and cross-domain co-creation. The Anniversary Sale gives us a rare opportunity to tap into global demand and introduce Reachy Mini to a wider audience."
The timing comes amid growing visibility for Reachy Mini. At CES 2026, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang featured Reachy Mini in his keynote address, demonstrating the desktop robot to a global audience and signaling that the era of embodied AI has arrived. The spotlight from one of the world's most-watched tech stages has helped drive surging interest and pre-order demand for the compact robot.
From March 16 through March 25, Reachy Mini will be available in stock – no pre-orders required. Seeed Studio's official AliExpress store will release limited units daily throughout the promotional period, giving consumers worldwide a chance to own one of the most talked-about robots in the embodied AI space.
Reachy Mini is among a growing roster of premium tech brands joining AliExpress Brand+, the platform's dedicated channel for high-end global technology brands. In 2025, Unitree Robotics opened its official flagship store on AliExpress, while Rokid AR glasses and other emerging global tech brands have used the platform to reach international consumers directly. As more frontier technology brands seek global scale, AliExpress is emerging as the platform of choice for hard tech brands looking to grow beyond their home markets.
"Reachy Mini joining AliExpress during our Anniversary Sale is a strong signal of where consumer technology is headed," said Chris Carl, Head of Marketing, AliExpress U.S. "We aim to bring the world's most innovative technology products to consumers everywhere."
Reachy Mini is available HERE through Seeed Studio's official AliExpress store.
About AliExpress
Launched in 2010, AliExpress is a global e-commerce platform dedicated to creating a better shopping experience for hundreds of millions of consumers in more than 200 countries and regions. In addition to the English version, the AliExpress platform is available in 15 other languages. AliExpress is part of Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group.
Developer-favorite desktop robot now available to more consumers worldwide through AliExpress Anniversary Sale
LOS ANGELES, March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Reachy Mini, the open-source desktop robot that has captivated the developer community, is now available to global consumers on AliExpress, coinciding with the platform's Anniversary Sale promotion. This extension marks an important step in expanding Reachy Mini beyond the open-source developer community to a broader consumer audience across key markets including the United States, Europe, South Korea, Japan and Brazil.
Developed within the Hugging Face ecosystem, a leading open-source AI platform, Reachy Mini is a flagship embodied AI project designed for human-AI interaction, creative coding, and hands-on experimentation. Reachy Mini has earned strong recognition among AI researchers and developers worldwide. Now, through AliExpress, the robot is becoming more broadly accessible to consumers interested in exploring the next wave of AI-powered robotics.
The addition of Reachy Mini reflects AliExpress' broader push to attract innovative technology products and brands. Seeed Studio, the hardware manufacturing partner behind Reachy Mini, selected AliExpress as its consumer market launchpad.
"AliExpress has made a strong commitment to supporting premium hard tech products, which aligns perfectly with Seeed Studio's mission," said Joey Jiang, VP of Global Sales and Marketing at Seeed Studio. "As an open-source hardware provider focused on emerging technologies, we have built a technology ecosystem based on open-source hardware, AI-driven capabilities, and cross-domain co-creation. The Anniversary Sale gives us a rare opportunity to tap into global demand and introduce Reachy Mini to a wider audience."
The timing comes amid growing visibility for Reachy Mini. At CES 2026, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang featured Reachy Mini in his keynote address, demonstrating the desktop robot to a global audience and signaling that the era of embodied AI has arrived. The spotlight from one of the world's most-watched tech stages has helped drive surging interest and pre-order demand for the compact robot.
From March 16 through March 25, Reachy Mini will be available in stock – no pre-orders required. Seeed Studio's official AliExpress store will release limited units daily throughout the promotional period, giving consumers worldwide a chance to own one of the most talked-about robots in the embodied AI space.
Reachy Mini is among a growing roster of premium tech brands joining AliExpress Brand+, the platform's dedicated channel for high-end global technology brands. In 2025, Unitree Robotics opened its official flagship store on AliExpress, while Rokid AR glasses and other emerging global tech brands have used the platform to reach international consumers directly. As more frontier technology brands seek global scale, AliExpress is emerging as the platform of choice for hard tech brands looking to grow beyond their home markets.
"Reachy Mini joining AliExpress during our Anniversary Sale is a strong signal of where consumer technology is headed," said Chris Carl, Head of Marketing, AliExpress U.S. "We aim to bring the world's most innovative technology products to consumers everywhere."
Reachy Mini is available HERE through Seeed Studio's official AliExpress store.
About AliExpress
Launched in 2010, AliExpress is a global e-commerce platform dedicated to creating a better shopping experience for hundreds of millions of consumers in more than 200 countries and regions. In addition to the English version, the AliExpress platform is available in 15 other languages. AliExpress is part of Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group.
** This press release is distributed by PR Newswire through automated distribution system, for which the client assumes full responsibility. **
Reachy Mini Hits AliExpress, Taking Embodied AI Global
