Graphic content warning: Bali’s dog meat trade
Mobile street food vendors are prepared to lie about the origin of satay meat sticks they sell to holidaymakers who may be unknowingly fuelling Bali’s dog meat trade, according to Animals Australia.
While controversial, dog meat consumption is legal in Indonesia. It is estimated that around 70,000 dogs per year are slaughtered in Bali to serve 75 restaurants on the island.
Undercover investigators allege brutal practices take place in the industry, including dogs being poisoned and bludgeoned to death with sticks. Dog meat samples bought from a Bali restaurant and taken to a government testing laboratory found traces of coliform bacteria and E.coli.
Animals Australia has given its findings to the Bali government to highlight what it claims to be breaches of food safety and animal welfare. It claimed the government has expressed privately a commitment to tackling the issue. No public statement has been made by the Bali government so far.
Click through our gallery (above) for pictures of Bali’s dog meat trade obtained by Animals Australia.
You can read the full story on the investigation here.