DPR Member Proposes National Ban on Dog and Cat Meat Trade to Curb Rabies
Deputy Chairman of House Commission IX, Charles Honoris, has highlighted Indonesia’s persistently high rabies cases and proposed a national regulation to ban the trade of dog and cat meat. He made the remarks during a working meeting with the Ministry of Health at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday (23/6/2026).
Honoris drew attention to Turkey’s management of rabies-filtered dogs and cats. “I often notice that when a dog or cat passes by and we play with it, there is a tag on its ear. So neither Istanbul residents nor tourists worry about being scratched by a cat or bitten by a dog. This is important. I believe it is not impossible for us to reduce or eliminate rabies cases in Indonesia,” he stated during the meeting.
He noted that Turkey records a maximum of two rabies cases annually, while 122 people were reported to have died from rabies in Indonesia in 2024. “I looked up the data on rabies cases in Turkey. There are no more than two, at most between one and two. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the death toll from rabies still exceeded 122 in 2024,” said the PDIP legislator. He added that the 2025 figure was not yet available but likely remained above 100.
Honoris stressed that effective control is achievable if government agencies cooperate, acknowledging it is not solely the Health Ministry’s responsibility but referencing the One Health and One Welfare concepts. He urged the Health Minister to coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Home Affairs to register the movement of dogs and cats across Indonesia, hoping to replicate Turkey’s rabies control system.
He expressed particular concern for Bali, home to the Kintamani dog, the only Indonesian breed recognised by the World Canine Federation. “I am somewhat saddened because Bali has a dog breed called the Kintamani Bali dog, which has been acknowledged internationally. Yet because Bali is still classified as a non-rabies-free zone, the movement of animals considered capable of transmitting rabies is not freely permitted in and out of Bali,” he explained.
Honoris subsequently proposed a national regulation banning the trade of dog and cat meat, arguing that consumption of such meat increases the risk of rabies transmission. He noted that Jakarta became the first province to issue a gubernatorial regulation prohibiting the trade of dog and cat meat for consumption in November last year and urged other provinces to adopt similar measures. “Let us make Indonesia rabies-free, and I am confident it is very achievable. One step, in my view, is to create a national-level regulation regarding the ban on the dog and cat meat trade, because consuming dogs and cats can apparently spread rabies,” he concluded.