Safe and sound: Rescued stray dogs gathering at a shelter in Jakarta, including some saved from restaurants serving dog meat. — AFP
Jakarta has banned the selling and consumption of dog, cat and bat meat to prevent rabies transmission, the city’s governor announced, in a win for animal rights advocates.
“I have signed the regulation... which prohibits the sale of rabies-transmitting animals for food purposes,” Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung said on social media on Tuesday, a month after promising to do so.
The regulation, which Pramono said he signed on Monday, provides a six-month grace period before it is enforced.
Violators could face sanctions, ranging from written warnings to revoking business licenses.
The governor said the ban applies to “live animals, meat, or other products, either raw or processed”, and prohibits any “activities related to... rabies-transmitting animals intended for food purposes”.
Indonesia is one of a handful of countries that permit the sale of dog and cat meat, but a campaign against the practice has gained ground, with some cities imposing local bans on the trade in recent years.
Animal rights activists hailed the Jakarta ban as a step in the right direction.
“This policy aligns with the mandate of the constitution to protect all Indonesian people and to become a just and civilised nation,” advocacy group Dog Meat Free Indonesia said in a statement.
Several dozen Indonesians die of rabies every year, according to the World Health Organisation. Indonesia’s health ministry reported 25 deaths between January and March 2025.
While dogs are widely viewed as unclean and are rarely kept as pets in Indonesia, their meat remains a delicacy among some groups. — AFP
