Tourists disgusted by dog meat allegations in Bali, Indonesia

Record ID: 898779

  • Title: Tourists disgusted by dog meat allegations in Bali, Indonesia
  • Date: 7th July 2017
  • Summary: BALI, INDONESIA, (RECENT - JULY 2, 2017) (REUTERS) TOURISTS WALKING ON BEACH (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN TOURIST WHO IDENTIFIED HERSELF AS MADDIE SAYING: "I think it's very, very bad that people are eating dog. They're such beautiful creatures, it doesn't matter if there's a lot of them, they are still creatures, we shouldn't eat them, they are pets. I can't imagine someone eating my pet, I'd hate them forever. So disgusting, yuck, I wouldn't eat in a restaurant with dog meat." (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN TOURIST, COLIN CARR SAYING: "People won't come if they keep hearing the same story: people are eating dogs. And to buy dog in the street, when you are thinking you're eating chicken or red meat, cow, fish, that to eat dog, no, no. Australians won't eat dogs. Won't come, they (Australians) won't come." BALI, INDONESIA, (RECENT - JULY 3, 2017) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF BALI GOVERNOR OFFICE SIGNBOARD READING (Bahasa Indonesia): "BALI GOVERNOR OFFICE" VARIOUS OF BALI GOVERNOR, MADE MANGKU PASTIKA, WALKING AND SPEAKING TO PEOPLE (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) BALI GOVERNOR, MADE MANGKU PASTIKA SAYING: "The news reports on social media are wrong, I have checked. The reports say dogs in Bali are killed brutally and sold as satay, this is not true, everything is not true. So please stop spreading the news. I have checked, the fact was we were doing mass vaccination." BALI, INDONESIA (RECENT - JUNE 27, 2017) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF THE OFFICE OF ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUP, BARC (BALI DOG ADOPTION AND REHABILITATION CENTRE) VARIOUS OF VOLUNTEERS HOLDING A PUP VARIOUS OF DOGS IN SAFE HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) FOUNDER OF BARC, LINDA BULLER SAYING: "The difference is, it is not normal in Bali to eat dog, it's normal to eat dogs maybe in China, in Vietnam that in Bali it's never been a normal thing. So it's only grown over the last 10 years, so I don't think it is a difficult thing to actually stop it." EXTERIOR OF A DOG MEAT RESTAURANT SIGNBOARD READING (Bahasa Indonesia): "RW SCOOBYDO" SIGNS OF RESTAURANT / TRAFFIC (SOUNDBITE) (English) FOUNDER OF BARC, LINDA BULLER SAYING: "We've heard the government is holding a summit on dog meat consumption in the second week of July and this is a positive thing to do. But I'm absolutely sure the international outcry will continue until the government formally announces that they will ban the consumption of dog meat." BALI, INDONESIA (RECENT - JUNE 30, 2017) (REUTERS) BEACH VARIOUS OF DOGS ON BEACH
  • Embargoed: 21st July 2017 11:01
  • Keywords: Indonesia Bali dog meat Animals Australia investigation trade
  • Location: BALI, INDONESIA
  • City: BALI, INDONESIA
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Topics: Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA0026P4W8QT
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC MATERIAL
    Tourists on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali may be unknowingly eating dog meat, activists have said, highlighting a rampant trade that is largely hidden from public and official scrutiny.
    Up to 100,000 dogs are slaughtered for consumption every year in Bali using inhumane and unsanitary methods, according to Animals Australia (AA), an NGO that conducted a month-long investigation into the practices of dog catchers, slaughterhouses, and street food vendors.
    "The dog meat trade in Bali is breaching local food safety and animal cruelty laws," AA's Lyn White said in a statement that accompanied video footage of dogs being captured and mistreated. Reuters was unable to verify the authenticity of the footage, which also showed vendors selling meat marked "RW" which stands for "dog meat" in Bahasa Indonesia.
    The reports also allege that tourists are unknowingly consuming dog meat.
    "They (Australians) won't come if they keep hearing the story: people are eating dogs," said one Australian tourist, Colin Carr.
    Bali governor Made Mangku Pastika denied allegations that dogs were being mistreated and that their meat was being sold at street stalls.
    "The news reports on social media are wrong, I have checked," he told Reuters.
    "The reports say dogs in Bali are killed brutally and sold as 'satay', this is not true," he said, referring to a popular skewered meat dish.
    Dog meat is popular in some parts of Indonesia and in other Asian countries like China and Vietnam.
    Linda Buller, founder of Bali Dog Adoption and Rehabilitation Centre, has been working for years against the illegal dog trade in Bali. She said the Balinese, a majority Hindu population, do not have a tradition of eating dogs due to their religion, and that the practice was brought in by people who moved here from other parts of Indonesia. The dog meat trade increased because people started stealing dogs to sell to dog meat vendors for extra income, she said.
    Animal rights groups are expected to hold discussions with the Bali government later this month and urge them to end the trade.
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