Indonesia's Dog Meat Trade: Cruel, Dangerous and Fueled by Misinformation
Despite gradual legislation to curb the dog meat trade for several years, stricter implementation across Indonesia’s archipelago has yet to happen. Meanwhile, NGOs such as Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) and its subdivision Dog Meat Free Indonesia tirelessly raise the alarm, highlighting not only ethical concerns but also the severe threat the sub-business poses to the country’s public health.
Dog meat has no food-grade status in Indonesia. But still, thousands of dogs are being taken not only from the streets daily but stolen from private properties as well as traded on Social Media platforms such as Facebook to be brutally killed, often by being bludgeoned to death or skinned alive.
More than half of the global rabies cases appear within South-East Asia, with Indonesia as one of its hotspots. Worldwide, around 60,000 people die every year due to a disease named “the oldest and most terrifying disease known to man” according to the World Health Organization. However, experts claim the actual number to be higher due to ongoing underreporting, especially in rural areas where around 80% of all cases appear. Of 10 deaths, 4 are among children.
While most recorded cases occur due to bites, the actual number is likely much higher due to so-called “non-traditional routes of transmission” — for both rabies and other dangerous pathogens.
Once infected with the rabies virus, the symptoms comprise various “flu-like” symptoms such as headache, fever and weakness. After some days, mental deterioration sets in, often shown as paranoia and unusually aggressive behaviour, both in infected animals and humans. With a fatality rate of 99%, if left untreated, it is all the more concerning that rabies is still surrounded by misinformation. Among the famous ones is the false claim that it can only be transmitted through the bites of infected animals. Hence, it is assumed that cooking dog meat will kill all pathogens and make it safe for consumption. In a country where rabies is endemic, those myths continue to raise concerns among public health experts and scientists across the globe.
Although high temperatures kill rabies pathogens, the risk of infection during and after the processing of infected dog meat remains high. In its Rabies Public FAQ of 2018, the World Health Organization highlights the dangers of mucosal transmission, meaning the virus’s ability to enter the human body through the eyes, mouth or the inhalation of aerosolized particles. It is spread through saliva, blood, tears and infected nerve tissue. According to the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), having even a minor non-bleeding scratch while in contact with infected meat can lead to rabies contamination, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Unfortunately, many of Indonesia’s local media outlets contribute to the false claims regarding the dangers of dog meat and, therefore, enable the people concerned to continue the dangerous habit of dog meat consumption. For instance, the regional boulevard magazine Antara Kalteng reassures its readers that the “rabies bacteria” (sic! — it’s a virus) is killed during the cooking process of dog meat and that “vaccinated dogs are safe for consumption”. The online magazine Liputan6.com quotes from the Workshop Protecting Lives and Livelihoods held in Bogor on the 6th of March 2018:
„If you eat processed dog meat that has been cooked, there is no risk of being infected with rabies. This is because viruses (and bacteria)in dogs die when cooked. “
Such comments reduce dog meat's problems tremendously, as the dangers of cross-contamination before, during and after the meat processing via mucosal transmissions and contaminated kitchenware such as cutting boards and knives remain unmentioned. While still being able to seek medical help after initial bites, those routes of transmission are way more subtle and unnoticed until the physical and subsequent mental deterioration sets in. However, if established once (and the incubation period can last up to weeks and even months!), there is no cure available yet. The infected person usually dies within a timeframe of 2 to 10 days after showing initial symptoms.
Additionally, those claims ignore the dangers of pathogens such as Cholera: If untreated, Cholera has a Case Fatality Rate of 30–50%, making it one of the most dangerous pathogens currently known. In 2007 and 2008, severe outbreaks of cholera took place in seven provinces in North Vietnam, which led to mass deaths among those infected. Multiple strains of the pathogen were eventually detected in rectal swabs from dogs at a slaughterhouse in Hanoi, where the meat was subsequently transported and sold across North Vietnam. It can be assumed that the meat was not consumed in a raw but cooked state. Unlike rabies, cholera can quickly spread via human-to-human transmission and through contaminated water and sewage. Since dog meat consumption is mainly prominent within the poorer regions of Indonesia, often lacking proper sanitation and health care, a Cholera Outbreak would prove catastrophic.
It is not challenging to see that more unnoticed transmission routes further support the claim of case underreporting made by health experts. However, especially important, it highlights the urgency of both nationwide educational campaigns and political action, such as stricter law implementation. Not only will this lead to a gradual improvement in protecting Indonesia’s public health, but it will also guarantee better animal welfare protection instead of leaving the main work to NGOs and private animal activists.
