Update:
After welfare group Animals Australia broke this news story, over 170,000 people from 159 countries around the world signed Animals Australia’s petition to save Bali’s dogs. This week, Balinese Governor Pastika banned the sale of dog meat in Bali, starting immediately. Part of the ban includes offering education in order to abolish the dog meat trade, and we couldn’t be happier to see another step forward in ending this horrific industry!
Original Story:
Evidence shown to Australian ABC’s 7.30 program shows that tourists are unwittingly eating dog meat in Bali. An investigation led by Animals Australia (AA) has obtained evidence that dogs are being bludgeoned, strangled, or poisoned for human consumption, then being sold to unwitting tourists as “chicken satay.”
Investigator “Luke” spent 4 months infiltrating and documenting the dog meat trade in Bali equipped with little more than a scooter, a small video camera, and his phone.
According to Luke:
“I began the investigation by pinpointing and getting to know the key players in Bali’s completely unregulated dog-meat industry. Eventually, they invited me to join them as their gangs stole, hunted, poisoned and killed dogs.”
While eating and selling dog meat is legal in Bali, cruelly killing animals and serving poisoned meat are not legal. Given the horrific ways that dogs are killed – including being poisoned with cyanide – the dog meat trade is technically breaking laws and can be hazardous to one’s health.
Cyanide is not destroyed by cooking, which means any dog killed using that method could contain poisoned meat. In small doses, cyanide poisoning can cause nausea, diarrhea, and muscle cramping. Repeated consumption of poisoned dog meat or a large portion of a dog curry made from the internal organs of a poisoned dog may be fatal.
Dogs may also be taken from parts of the country that have active cases of rabies. Rabies can be spread to humans by an infected dog’s saliva, and there have been 20 known human rabies deaths in Bali since 2015 (though not necessarily as a result of eating infected dog meat).
Locals know that the letters “RW” on the side of a food cart or restaurant indicate the vendor is selling dog meat. Tourists are told the meat is “chicken satay.”
Luke said:
“As an animal cruelty investigator, I have trained myself to cope with cruelty, but nothing prepared me for the brutal catching of dogs in the village. I focused on my camera work but it was gut-wrenching to hear these dogs … screaming and wailing in terror and sorrow.”
AA is calling on Australians to demand an end to the dog meat trade. The Bali Animal Welfare Association (BAWA) is working to protect the island’s dogs by rescuing dogs from meat traders.
To learn more, check out ABC News Australia. Be warned, there are some disturbing photos and videos in their article.
(Updated information from One Green Planet)
Toledo, United States.
