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Indonesian City Faces Ban on Dog Meat

Yudha Satriawan

   SOLO, INDONESIA - The tented business next to the Tirtonadi Bus
   Terminal blends in with nearby food stalls selling local favorites.

   The "warung" displays its menus on a stick attached to the side of the
   tent. "Warung Makan Kuliner Daging Guk Guk" proclaims this busy stall
   serves dog, as "guk-guk" is how Indonesians describe a [1]dog's bark,
   heard elsewhere as "woof-woof" (English), "wan-wan" (Japanese) or
   "hau-hau" (Arabic).

   Anton Kristian, a dog meat aficionado in his 30s, said a schoolmate
   introduced him to dog about five years ago, and ever since then he has
   enjoyed eating dog on a night out with friends.

   "Dog meat's texture is similar to beef. It's tender and has distinctive
   flavour," said Kristian, who prefers his dog prepared astongseng, a
   curry-like soup with chilli, chunks of tomatoes, and cabbage that is
   also prepared with goat, mutton or beef.

   "I love it," said the young professional in his 30s who may soon find
   it difficult to indulge his taste for the animal known as man's best
   friend in other cultures.

   Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, after a meeting earlier this
   month with representatives from [2]Dog Meat Free Indonesia, told city
   council members and administrators to draft regulations to ban the sale
   and consumption of dog meat in Solo, a city renowned for its dog
   delicacies.

   He pointed out that Indonesia does not recognize dog meat as edible,
   and added that by stopping people from consuming dog meat, he hopes to
   contain the spread of rabies.

   The virus is endemic in Southeast Asia. Dogs are the main hosts and
   transmitters of [3]rabies. They are the cause of [4]human rabies deaths
   in 99% of all cases.

References

   1. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/201211/how-dogs-bark-in-different-languages
   2. https://www.dogmeatfreeindonesia.org/
   3. https://www.who.int/rabies/resources/SEA_CD_278_FAQs_Rabies.pdf
   4. https://www.who.int/gho/neglected_diseases/rabies/en/

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