Sickening: Bali dog meat trade poses major health risk.

An Animals Australia investigation into the Bali dog meat trade documented street dogs and family pets being captured then killed by strangulation, beating and poisoning. Their meat, butchered in filthy conditions, was destined for restaurants and street vendors, and even unsuspecting tourists.

Part of Bali’s appeal for tourists is cost-effective accommodation and food, but most tourists have no idea that the letters “RW” on the outside of popular street food stalls indicate that it is dog meat being served. Mobile dog meat vendors also actively targeted tourists on beaches, offering satays from tubs. They are deliberately not disclosing that they are selling dog meat.

If having a healthy, happy holiday in Bali is a priority then it’s important to understand the ‘traps’ to avoid…

There is evidence that poison is being used in Bali to kill dogs who end up being eaten by people. Cooking doesn’t always make the meat ‘safe’ to eat, and meat and organs from poisoned dogs can even contaminate the ground and waterways.

Independent testing of dog meat samples in Bali showed 27 times the safe level of E.coli, a bacteria found in faeces and transmitted by unsafe food handling. And dog meat vendors have been caught on film lying to tourists about what they’re selling.

But the dangers of eating meat in Bali don’t end with dog meat…

A health and welfare disaster is brewing in the island’s slaughterhouses. Pigs, cows and chickens are routinely suffering terrible abuse before being butchered in filthy conditions.

Read on to discover why eating meat in Bali could make you very sick, and how to keep yourself and your family safe.

Evidence shows that neither animal welfare nor food safety standards are being enforced in Bali slaughterhouses. Abusive treatment like drowning, electric shocks and painful, fully conscious slaughter are routine. Animals are killed, butchered and cut up on dirty floors, with footage from at least one facility revealing eviscerated organs and meat being ‘washed’ in the sewerage-laden stream which passed beside the killing floor.

The failure to enforce health and hygiene laws creates a toxic mix for people in Bali — local community members and visitors alike. If you care about animals, value your health and especially if you have kids, it’s important you know this so you can make informed decisions about what you eat when in Bali.

Animals Australia is working with the Bali Government to secure the enforcement of laws in Bali to better protect animals and people.

What you can do to eat safely in Bali

With unscrupulous Bali dog meat traders caught on film lying about what they’re selling, plus hygiene and slaughter standards not being enforced in Bali’s abattoirs, the safest choice to make while in Bali is to avoid eating meat altogether. It’s easy — and delicious.

Bali has a vibrant vegetarian food scene, with over 100 veg restaurants on the island. What’s more, most street or beach vendors will happily cook up vegetable dishes (like nasi goreng or veg nasi campur). Check out the Happy Cow website or app for places to eat.

Being a kind traveller in Bali

One important thing to keep in mind — especially in light of the Bali dog meat trade’s connection to tourism — is that wherever we live in the world, every society and every culture has been conditioned to think of sweet, gentle, domesticated animals as nothing more than a food source — be they dogs, cows, pigs or chickens… If we can begin to unravel our own conditioned thinking, there is infinite hope for all animals. And every caring person can play a part.

Here are 6 ways you can help all animals in Bali.