Bali cracks down on dog meat after investigation shows tourists being duped into eating skewers

Officials in Bali cracked down on vendors after a recent investigation showed that Australian tourists were being duped into eating dog meat skewers during holiday on the picturesque Indonesian island.

They also seized hundreds of kilograms of raw dog meat and hundreds of skewers on Thursday despite a blanket ban on such meat trade on the popular resort island.

At least 500 dog meat skewers were seized by public order officers in Bali’s Jembrana district along with 56kg of raw dog meat from another seller in the area after a round of inspections, reported AFP.

Public order authorities were carrying out inspections this week and found three dog meat sellers who were still selling the banned meat despite local regulations, said Bali Public Order Agency head Dewa Nyoman Rai Dharmadi.

The crackdown is harsher on the repeat offenders who knew about the ban and still continued trading but a seller who was unaware of the restrictions will get a chance to switch to another meat trade, Mr Dewa said.

He added that a dog satay seller has been let go with a warning because he was not previously caught trading. But the other two sellers were repeat offenders with minor criminal offences filed against them at a local court. They will appear for a trial next month, he said.

"We won’t suddenly take legal action, but we are giving them the chance to know the ban and why it was banned. But we will process recurrent (sellers) for deterrent effect. We’re not playing around,” he said.

Bali has a strict ban on the dog meat trade, carrying a punishment of up to three months in prison or a fine of up to 50m rupiah (£2300) for those found guilty.

A recent investigation showed that Australian tourists were being tricked into eating dog meat during their holidays in Bali, said Animals International, an NGO voicing concerns against animal cruelty.

Dogs are commonly eaten in Southeast and East Asia, in countries such as China, Vietnam, and North Korea. They are also consumed in some African nations but all these regions are witnessing an overhaul in consumption due to the cruel and unregulated dog meat industry.

In recent times, South Korea’s dog meat industry has drawn more attention because of the country’s reputation as a cultural and economic powerhouse.

Several animal rights activists have flagged the practice of sale and consumption of dog and cat meat due to the “cruelty of trade”. Animals International said the dog trade meat inflicts terrible suffering on dogs and also creates significant health and safety risks for tourists and locals alike.

It said many dogs are poisoned on the street or beaches to cater to the trade demands and “others were brutally caught, muzzled with tape, tied up and shoved into bags to await their fate”.

“Some were kept like this for over 24 hours before being  strangled, or clubbed to death,” the NGO said.