Since Animals Australia uncovered evidence of the brutal dog meat trade in Bali in early 2017, our small dedicated team on the ground has been working to end the trade for good.
While eating dogs is not part of traditional Balinese Hindu culture, an award-winning exposé on ABC’s 7.30 highlighted our investigation into this hidden cruelty: dogs in Bali being strangled, beaten, and poisoned for sale as ‘meat’ to unwitting tourists and as regular food for some ethnic minority groups. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world joined our campaign to save Bali’s dogs.
Although our primary incentive for working in Bali was to bring an end to the cruel dog meat trade, it became immediately apparent that there was a need to create positive change for all Bali’s animals, especially those seen as ‘food’. With tourism critical to Bali’s economy — and over 1 million Australians visiting the island every year — we are implementing initiatives to encourage compassionate treatment and choices in local and tourist communities.
Bali Government: “Dog meat is not to be eaten”
Following an historic Forum bringing together government officials, health authorities, tourism bodies and community leaders, and a Circular Letter from Bali’s Governor, the first-ever closure program for dog meat outlets in Bali started in the main tourist District of Badung last November, and received wide local media coverage: