Recently, there is a viral movement against eating dog meat from various countries around the world. This movement went viral on social media with the hashtag #nodogmeat. Animal-loving organizations also take part and aggressively campaign for this movement. They state that dogs are animals to be kept and made friends, not to be eaten.
In Indonesia itself, there is a law that regulates which animals are suitable for consumption. UU Nomor 41 Tahun 2014 concerning Livestock and Animal Health as well as UU Nomor 18 Tahun 2012 concerning Food includes requirements for animals that are suitable for consumption, and dogs are not included.
According to UU Nomor 41 Tahun 2014 and UU Nomor 18 Tahun 2012, dogs are animals that are not included in livestock and food. However, there are still many people in the world who consume it based on various things. According to the “Animal Welfare Institute” in Washington DC, United States, it is estimated that two million dogs are killed each year for food. Meanwhile, The Human Society International estimates that as many as 30 million dogs are slaughtered and fed each year (Natali 2021). The dogs that will be consumed are usually obtained by taking abandoned dogs on the street, stealing dogs that have owners, and raising them specifically for consumption (Suputra et.al 2020).
So why are dogs not feasible for consumption?
Dog meat can spread rabies and they are the most likely animal host that spreads infection to humans (Eze et.al 2015).
Most likely to contract leptoshipra and tapeworms (Pratiwi 2019).
It is possible that the dogs consumed were taken from the theft of owned dogs.
Processing of meat that is not good, such as dogs being killed by beating them to death. Law Number 41 of 2014: “Animal Welfare is all matters relating to the physical and mental state of Animals according to the size of the natural behavior of Animals that need to be implemented and enforced to protect Animals from any person’s inappropriate treatment of Animals that are used by humans.” (peraturan.bpk.go.id)
There are no studies that say that dog meat has nutritional and health benefits.
For those reasons, the marketing of dog meat has also become illegal in many countries. However, even though it is illegal, there are still very many who sell and consume dog meat openly. Educating the public about the dangers of eating dog meat can help reduce the marketing of dog meat. Assistance from the wider community and the government is urgently needed so that this problem can be immediately addressed.
Source
Eze UU, Anene BM, Chukwu CC, Ogunkoya AB, George So, Eze JI, Animoke PC, Nwosuh CI. 2015. Risk of typical rabies in dog meat-eating human population, in Enugu, Nigeria. International Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology. 4(1): 107-109.
Natali A. 2021. Analisa interaksi sosial grup facebook pecinta anjing dan hibag dalam mengkampanyekan bahaya mengkonsumsi daging anjing. Jurnal Ilmu Komunikasi. 1(1): 1-8.
Pratiwi VH. 2019. Iklan layanan masyarakat dampak mengkonsumsi daging anjing bagi manusia [disertasi]. Semarang (ID): Unika Soegijapranata Semarang.
Suputra IMHD, Wirawan IGN, Indira W. 2020. Rancangan media kampanye sosial larangan makan daging anjing di Bali. Jurnal Desain Komunikasi Visual. 1(2): 145-156.