In 2017, Animals Australia, an Australian-based animal welfare organization, uncovered the dog meat trade (DMT) in Bali, bringing this hidden issue into the spotlight. The discovery was featured on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)‘s 7.30 current affairs program, revealing shocking footage of dogs being captured, transported, and slaughtered in brutal ways, including poisoning, strangulation, and bludgeoning. Alarmingly, the report also showed Australian tourists unknowingly consuming dog meat at a major tourist beach.
Following these revelations, Animals Australia engaged in discussions with the Bali Government, which initially expressed doubts about the extent of local involvement in the trade. The government questioned whether the DMT was a widespread issue or limited to isolated cases.
As a result, the Governor of Bali issued a Circular Letter in 2017 calling for closer monitoring of the DMT and further research to understand the trade’s reach and impact. This led to the formation of a multidisciplinary movement focused on ending the trade. Research funded by Animals Australia demonstrated that, aside from the cruelty, the DMT posed a One Health risk with significant potential to harm Bali’s tourism industry. The trade was identified as a vector for the spread of diseases, threatening public health and the island’s economy.
Research and Monitoring Efforts
Since this discovery, the Animals International Bali Team, the global arm of Animals Australia, in collaboration with Bali Animal Defender and later Sintesia Animalia Indonesia (since 2022), has conducted extensive research on the socio-demographics of dog meat traders in Bali. Their efforts focused on understanding the dangerous chain of events that starts with the capture of dogs and ends with the distribution of processed or raw dog meat.
Each stage of the DMT—capture, transport, slaughter, and sale—carries a risk of disease transmission and raises legal and ethical concerns. The research emphasized that the trade not only involved extreme animal cruelty but also created serious public health risks due to unsanitary conditions and potential disease outbreaks.
The Call to End the Dog Meat Trade
The importance of addressing and ending Bali’s dog meat trade is underlined by several critical factors. Beyond the ethical and legal conflicts, the trade has far-reaching implications for public health under the One Health framework, which highlights the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health.
As efforts to close down the DMT continue, the Bali Government and advocacy organizations are urged to act swiftly to protect both animal welfare and the health of the people, as well as safeguard the integrity of Bali’s tourism industry. Ending this trade would represent a significant victory for animal welfare, public safety, and the cultural image of Bali as a global tourist destination.
