Indonesia: "Let's Also Enact a Dog Meat Ban Law"

Police Raid Truck Illegally Distributing Dog Meat on the 6th
7% of Population Consumes Dog Meat... "Should Be Illegal Like in Korea"

On the 9th, as the "Special Act to End (Ban) Dog Meat Consumption" (Dog Meat Ban Act) was passed in the South Korean National Assembly, voices calling for a legal ban on dog meat consumption are growing in Indonesia as well.

Local media such as The Jakarta Post reported on the 13th (local time) that on the 6th, Indonesian police seized a truck heading to a slaughterhouse in Semarang, Central Java, based on a tip-off. Inside the truck were about 200 dogs with their legs and mouths tied, some of which had already suffocated and died.

The police arrested five people in the truck on charges of animal cruelty and violations of livestock industry laws. Investigations revealed that they planned to distribute dog meat caught at an unlicensed slaughterhouse to nearby areas, and that they had been running a dog meat distribution business for the past 10 years.

Truck caught illegally distributing dogs in Indonesia on the 6th [Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

Christian Joshua Pail of the Indonesian animal protection group 'Animals Hope Shelter Indonesia' warned, "Some of the dogs had diseases such as rabies or heartworm," adding, "Eating such dogs can be harmful to humans."

Meanwhile, as news came that dog meat consumption was banned in South Korea, where dog meat culture had existed for a long time, opinions are emerging in Indonesia that similar legislation should be enacted.

In Indonesia, dog meat vendors are sometimes punished by courts for animal cruelty or violations of livestock industry laws, and some regions prohibit dog meat distribution through local ordinances. However, there is still no clear law banning dog meat consumption and distribution.

Muslims, who make up 87% of Indonesia's population, consider dogs impure and unclean animals and do not eat their meat, but among non-Muslims, there are quite a few who enjoy dog meat as a delicacy.

A dog meat restaurant in Seoul [Photo by Yonhap News]

Karin Franken of 'Dog Meat Free Indonesia' (DMFI), a group campaigning against dog meat in Indonesia, said, "Although 7% of Indonesia's population still eats dog meat, most of the rest oppose dog meat consumption," adding, "We hope that this incident will lead to the enactment of a dog meat consumption ban law like in South Korea."

It is also reported that public opinion in China, the world's largest dog meat-consuming country, is aligning with South Korea's trend. Chinese-language media reported on the 10th that "from the 9th, when the dog meat ban law was passed in South Korea, to two days after, the topic of banning dog meat recorded about 100 million views on the Chinese social network Weibo, with 7,229 posts produced."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.