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'Dog day' controversy: Pets, not proteins
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Food, not food?: While vendors and traders object to the ban issued by the Medan administration on selling dog meat for human consumption, many animal welfare groups welcome the new rule. (Unsplash/Jovin Kallis) (Unsplash/Jovin Kallis)
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raders and food vendors in Medan are concerned that a local policy prohibiting the sale of dog meat for human consumption will threaten their livelihoods, but animal welfare groups have welcomed the ban.
Yanto spends his day serving customers grilled dog meat at his stall in Medan, North Sumatra. The 45-year-old, who requested anonymity, said he had seen fewer customers of late, rationalizing that “people are refraining from eating out” as the year drew to a close.
His turnover had doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic, Yanto said, as many people, particularly those from the Batak ethnic community, believed that consuming dog meat would boost their immune system and speed up their recovery from the disease.
As the pandemic began to subside, however, his sales began to fall. The Medan municipal government also started issuing a circular prohibiting the commercial sales of dog meat.
But Yanto had yet to receive any formal notification or information on the policy.
“Of course, I don’t agree with that rule. I don’t think the rule is clear and it doesn’t match the reality on the ground,” he said.
‘Misunderstanding’
