Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, has banned the sale and consumption of dog, cat, and bat meat as part of efforts to curb the spread of rabies, a major victory for animal rights advocates.
Governor Pramono Anung announced the decision on Tuesday, confirming that he had signed the regulation a day earlier. The move follows a public pledge made a month ago to end the trade in animals considered high-risk for rabies transmission.
“I have signed the regulation… which prohibits the sale of rabies-transmitting animals for food purposes,” the governor said in a statement posted on social media.
According to a document seen by AFP, the regulation includes a six-month transition period before full enforcement. Penalties for violators range from written warnings to the revocation of business licences.
The ban covers “live animals, meat, or other products, either raw or processed,” and prohibits all activities related to the trade of rabies-transmitting animals for consumption.
Indonesia is among the few countries where dog and cat meat consumption is still legal, though pressure from animal welfare groups has led some cities to impose local bans in recent years.
Animal rights group Dog Meat Free Indonesia applauded the new policy, saying it “aligns with the mandate of the constitution to protect all Indonesian people and to become a just and civilised nation.”
Rabies remains a public health concern in the country. According to the World Health Organization, several dozen Indonesians die from the disease annually, while the Ministry of Health recorded 25 deaths between January and March 2025.
Although dogs are often viewed as unclean and rarely kept as pets in Muslim-majority Indonesia, their meat remains a delicacy for some communities and a cheap source of protein. Dog meat is also consumed in several other Asian countries.
AFP
