Banyuwangi to cull dogs from Bali

The Agriculture Ministry's Quarantine Agency in Ketapang, Banyuwangi, East Java, is planning to cull 40 local dogs discovered after being transported from Bali to the province via Gilimanuk Port.

Agency head Imam Agung said the culling, which would be conducted at 9 a.m. Friday in the quarantine cage in Bengkak subdistrict, Ketapang, would be done to prevent the spread of rabies in the province.

"No observational or clinical tests are required to cull the dogs because Bali has been declared a rabies pandemic area," Imam told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Imam said the Banyuwangi regent, police, port officials and officials from the regency husbandry agency would witness the culling.

Officials from Ketapang Port seized the dogs early Monday morning, moments after they arrived at the port.

Saharudin Kotto, operational manager of the port's operator, PT ASDP Ketapang, said officials became suspicious after hearing dogs barking from the back of a pickup truck. After checking, they found dozens of dogs being trasported in two iron cages on the truck.

"They looked very dirty and some had even died in the cages," he said, adding the dogs did not come with proper documents.

The owner, Supriyanto, told officials that the dogs would be transported to Kediri, East Java, to guard a poultry farm. The port's officials, however, suspected the dogs were to be sold in major cities as meat.

A member of the Agriculture Ministry's quarantine commission, Chairul Anwar Nidom, said the dogs would be culled by incineration. He said incineration was in line with the prevailing procedure to prevent the spread of the rabies virus to other animals.