Dog Meat Free Indonesia Coalition Hands In 702.102 Petition Signatures Calling for Nationwide Ban on Dog and Cat Meat Trade

10 Jun
6 menit membaca

Global petition urges President Prabowo Subianto to back the Animal Protection and Welfare Bill. Help make Indonesia the next country to end the cruel and dangerous trade

Jakarta, Indonesia – 5 June 2026 – The Dog Meat Free Indonesia Coalition has today submitted 702.102 petition signatures to the Indonesian Government in Jakarta, calling for urgent national action to end Indonesia’s dog and cat meat trade on the grounds of animal welfare, public health, public safety and the country’s pledge to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies by 2030.

Today’s hand-in follows coordinated petition submissions to Indonesian embassies and consulates across 12 countries at the end of April by the coalition, highlighting the global spotlight on Indonesia and widespread hope that the country will take decisive national action after DMFI’s decade-long campaign of investigations, exposés, research and advocacy exposing the cruelty and public health dangers of the trade.

The petition urges President Prabowo Subianto to support and accelerate passage of the Animal Protection and Welfare Bill, included in the 2026 National Legislative Program, Prolegnas, as a historic opportunity to introduce a clear nationwide ban on the dog and cat meat trade.

National opinion polling shows overwhelming public support for a ban. A nationwide Nielsen survey commissioned by DMFI found that 93% of Indonesians support a national ban on the dog meat trade, while only 5.4% have ever consumed dog meat and less than 1% have ever consumed cat meat.

Based on nationwide investigations spanning more than a decade, DMFI estimates that every year more than one million dogs and tens of thousands of cats are captured, trafficked and slaughtered for human consumption across Indonesia through profit-driven networks of “supply” and “demand” hubs. Many are stolen pets or community animals, moved across regency and provincial borders, transported in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, and killed using crude and brutal methods in markets and makeshift slaughterhouses.

Alongside the petition, DMFI submitted its special report, “The Dog and Cat Meat Trade and its Impact on Rabies Control, Disease Transmission, and Animal Welfare”, setting out why prohibition is the only effective policy response to the trade’s severe animal welfare, public health and rabies-control risks.

The report concludes that the trade poses a serious and preventable threat to public health, animal health, animal welfare and national biosecurity. By moving dogs of unknown origin, health and vaccination status through illegal, untraceable networks supplying markets and slaughterhouses, it directly undermines rabies elimination efforts. As the only trade in dogs operating at this scale in Indonesia , it destabilises dog populations, weakens vaccination coverage and risks spreading rabies into new areas.

Lola Webber, International Director of Dog Meat Free Indonesia, said: “Our investigations continue to expose Indonesia’s dog and cat meat trade as one built on immense suffering, profit, cruelty and illegality. It relies on theft, illegal transport, concealed supply chains and slaughter outside official systems, making it effectively unregulatable. The evidence is clear: the dog and cat meat trade cannot be made safe, it cannot be made humane, and the only effective solution is a nationwide ban.”

Indonesia is home to an estimated 16 million dogs, with approximately two-thirds living in rabies-endemic provinces. Rabies remains almost 100% fatal once symptoms appear, yet is preventable through mass dog vaccination, effective animal movement control and enforcement.

The hand-in follows growing regional momentum. In November 2025, DKI Jakarta enacted Governor Regulation No. 36/2025, banning the trade, slaughter and consumption of meat from rabies-transmitting animals, including dogs and cats. Jakarta is now one of 122 regencies, cities and provinces across Indonesia to have taken action against the trade. At the event, DMFI presented an award to Governor Pramono Anung in recognition of his leadership and Jakarta’s decisive action as a model for national reform.

The dog and cat meat trade serves only a small minority of Indonesia’s population, while jeopardising the country’s Zero by 30 pledge, endangering people’s pets, and ignoring the majority view – in line with the central government’s position – that dogs are not food. DMFI says national legislation is urgently needed to close enforcement gaps, protect companion animals wherever they live, and give authorities the clear mandate they need to end the trade for good.

Karin Franken, National Coordinator of Dog Meat Free Indonesia, said: “Indonesia is at a turning point. Across the country, communities are increasingly rejecting the dog and cat meat trade because it is cruel, dangerous and out of step with the values of modern Indonesia. With public support, political momentum and clear evidence of the trade’s risks, Indonesia now has the opportunity to protect both animals and people through decisive national action.”

The Animal Protection and Welfare Bill has received cross-party support, including from the Party of Golongan Karya (Golkar), Party of Nasional Demokrat (NasDem), Party of Partai Amanat Nasional (PAN), Party of Partai Demokrasi Indonesia - Perjuangan (PDI-P) and Party of Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS). DMFI is urging lawmakers to ensure that the Bill includes a clear, comprehensive and enforceable prohibition on all stages of the dog and cat meat trade.

Rizal Bawazier, Member of the Legislative Body House of Representatives / BALEG DPR RI, said: “The Animal Protection and Welfare Bill is an important opportunity for Indonesia to strengthen animal protection, safeguard public health and respond to the clear wishes of the Indonesian people. Ending the dog and cat meat trade would be a historic step forward, in line with Indonesia’s rabies elimination goals and the growing public demand for change.”

If passed into law, Indonesia would join a growing number of countries and territories across Asia taking decisive action against the trade, including South Korea, which passed landmark legislation in January 2024 to ban the dog meat industry. Across Asia, the slaughter and sale of dogs and cats for human consumption is already explicitly banned in Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand and South Korea; effectively prohibited in Singapore and Malaysia; and banned locally in Shenzhen and Zhuhai in mainland China, and Siem Reap, Cambodia.

DMFI is calling on President Prabowo Subianto and the Indonesian Government to act now to protect animals from extreme cruelty, safeguard public health, uphold the will of the Indonesian people, and strengthen Indonesia’s reputation as a modern, compassionate and responsible nation.

ENDS

About Dog Meat Free Indonesia

Dog Meat Free Indonesia is a coalition of international and Indonesian animal protection organisations comprising Jakarta Animal Aid Network, Humane World for Animals, FOUR PAWS, Animals Asia, Animal Friends Jogja and Natha Satwa Nusantara. Since 2016, DMFI has conducted investigations, advocacy, public campaigns and cooperation with central and regional governments to promote policies that protect both animals and people.

Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XVSHNcWxJN9H-U6DCbQ4Numaw6NUkCXi

Special Report: The Dog and Cat Meat Trade and its Impact on Rabies Control, Disease Transmission, and Animal Welfare: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15NPqRNNj7heNw7GubFaI5hKfJPm_IsoX?usp=sharing

Key facts:

● Indonesia is estimated to have a dog population exceeding 16 million, with approximately two-thirds located in rabies-endemic provinces.

● More than one million dogs and tens of thousands of cats are estimated to be traded and slaughtered annually in Indonesia for meat.

● To date, 122 regencies, cities and provinces across Indonesia have issued local directives or regulations to tackle the dog and cat meat trade.

● A nationwide Nielsen opinion poll commissioned by DMFI in January 2021 found that 93% of Indonesians support a national dog meat ban, while only 5.4% have ever consumed dog meat and less than 1% have ever consumed cat meat.

● The dog and cat meat trade undermines rabies elimination by moving dogs of unknown health and vaccination status across administrative boundaries, including from rabies-endemic areas into areas seeking to maintain or regain rabies-free status.

● Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear, but it is preventable through mass dog vaccination, responsible pet ownership, timely post-exposure treatment, surveillance and effective control of animal movement, as recognised by leading human and animal health experts and intergovernmental organisations.

● An estimated 30 million dogs are killed for meat each year across Asia.

● The Animal Protection and Welfare Bill was included in Indonesia’s 2026 National Legislative Program, Prolegnas, following the DPR plenary session on 23 September 2025.

● Jakarta’s Governor Regulation No. 36/2025 has been in force since 24 November 2025 and prohibits the trade of meat from rabies-transmitting animals for consumption.

● At the end of April 2026, DMFI and supporters handed in petition signatures to Indonesian embassies and consulates across 12 countries, demonstrating international concern and support for Indonesia to end the dog and cat meat trade.

Media contacts

Bahasa Indonesia:

Karin Franken

National Director, Dog Meat Free Indonesia Coalition

Phone/WhatsApp: +62 821 2248 7794

Email: karin@jaandomestic.com

Communication Manager, Dog Meat Free Indonesia Coalition

WhatsApp: +6285695454300/ +6285183127059

Email: asha@halodmfi.org

English:

Lola Webber

International Director, Dog Meat Free Indonesia Coalition