Dog meat consumption a concern in Surakarta

The Jakarta Post, Oct 12 2015


An expert has said that every day, dozens of dogs are slaughtered for consumption in Surakarta, potentially increasing the risk of rabies spreading in the city.

A Surakarta Legislative Council member, Reny Widyawati, who also sits on a special committee (Pansus) for a draft animal-health regional regulation, said on Monday that the Surakarta administration must take tough action against the consumption of dog meat. She said without monitoring and control, the consumption of dog meat would continue to grow, increasing the rabies exposure potential for Surakarta residents who consumed it.

“We should not allow Surakarta to become a place like Bali, which spends Rp 150 billion (US$11.2 million) each year to tackle a rabies epidemic. The consumption of dog meat in Surakarta has been very high. This must be pushed down,” said Reny.

The lawmaker said the Surakarta administration must immediately regulate the distribution of dog meat for consumption with a regional regulation. She said the administration had not yet taken adequate measures to monitor the distribution of dog meat because dogs were not categorized as livestock.

“There should be continuous monitoring of methods used to slaughter dogs, the health condition of dogs being slaughtered and more. Don’t let rabies spread in the city and not take steps to tackle the problem until after it has occurred,” said Reny.

She further explained the committee would hold a public hearing to collect responses from Surakarta residents to the idea of prohibiting dog meat distribution in the city.

She could not yet give details on whether the committee would propose a ban on dog meat distribution or only reduce the amount dog meat consumed.

Central Java Animal Husbandry and Health Agency head Agus Wariyanto said of 35 regencies and cities in Central Java, Surakarta was the city with highest consumption of dog meat, reaching 63 animals per day, followed by Klaten regency with 25 and Semarang regency and Semarang city, which consumed 22 dogs each per day.

Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo supported the DPRD Surakarta’s plan to issue a regional regulation prohibiting the consumption of dog meat because, he believed, dog was not for consumption.

“People should know that dog is an animal not suitable for consumption. Don’t eat dog meat anymore,” he said during a visit to Surakarta on Sunday.

In Surakarta, dog meat is sold in food stalls where people can easily identify it from the names of dishes containing dog, such as Sate Jamu, Sate Gukguk, Sate Wedus Balap, Rica-rica Jamu and Sengsu.



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