(Antara/Wahyu Putro)The Central Java provincial administration is set to regulate the circulation of dog meat to mitigate the transmission of the rabies virus
The Central Java provincial administration is set to regulate the circulation of dog meat to mitigate the transmission of the rabies virus.
"We need to regulate [the circulation] as almost 98 percent of the rabies virus is being transmitted through dogs," said the province's head of husbandry and animal health, Agus Wariyanto, in Semarang on Wednesday as quoted by Antara news agency.
According to Agus, Central Java was second after Jakarta as the are province with the highest consumption of dog meat, with an estimated 223 dogs consumed per day.
Of the 35 regencies and cities in Central Java, the city of Surakarta was the province's biggest consumer, with 63 dogs per day, followed by Klaten regency with 25 dogs per day and the city of Semarang and Semarang regency, each with 22 dogs per day.
"As part of our strategy, we have laboratories in Semarang, Surakarta and Purwokerto that continuously conduct routine examinations of the disease," said Agus.
He added that the administration also conducted vaccinations in areas that bordered regions in which rabies was prevalent such as Brebes and Cilacap.
He also urged the public to participate in supervising dog meat circulation, especially as the consumption of the food was becoming an increasingly popular lifestyle choice. (kes)(++++)
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