The Indian state of Nagaland has banned the import, trading and sale of dog meat. The state’s top official announced this on Friday, after a picture of incapacitated canines tied in gunny bags was widely circulated on social media which led to sustained campaign by animal welfare groups.
“The State Government has decided to ban commercial import and trading of dogs and dog markets and also the sale of dog meat, both cooked and uncooked. Appreciate the wise decision taken by the State’s Cabinet,” Nagaland Chief Secretary Temjen Toy twitted on Friday.
The State Government has decided to ban commercial import and trading of dogs and dog markets and also the sale of dog meat, both cooked and uncooked. Appreciate the wise decision taken by the State’s Cabinet @Manekagandhibjp @Neiphiu_Rio
— Temjen Toy (@temjentoy) July 3, 2020
The disturbing pictures of dogs in Nagaland’s Dimapur’s wet markets created an uproar on the internet. A non-profit- ogranisation, The Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO), on Thursday submitted a plea to the state government to ban the dog meat trade.
“Today (Thursday), we have submitted a fresh appeal to the Government of Nagaland to take immediate actions to implement a ban on the sale, smuggling and consumption of dog meat in the State and ensure the enforcement of stringent animal welfare laws,” a statement by FIAPO, read.
Omung Kumar, the director of Priyanka Chopra-starring movie, Mary Kom, also actively participated in an online campaign in which other social media users were encouraged to send emails demanding ban on dog meat trade.
Eating dog meat is illegal in parts of India, but some communities in north-eastern areas consider it a delicacy. In 2016 also animal rights activists had sent a legal to the government over dog meat trade.
FIAPO revealed that dogs are brought in from neighbouring northeast states and even from West Bengal for slaughter. The press statement released by the FIAPO read, “In Assam ‘dog catchers’ (working for the smugglers) get about Rs 50 per dogs. The same dog, when sold at wholesale rate in Nagaland, costs Rs. 1000. In the streets of Nagaland, dog meat sells for Rs. 200 per kg i.e. roughly Rs.2000 per dog which is a 40-50 times increase from the catchers’ ‘price’ a hundred kilometres away”.