Dog meat trade: Nagaland in India announces end

In a landmark decision, the Indian state government of Nagaland has put an end to the brutal dog meat trade.

The decision, announced by the cabinet today, will ban the import, trade, and sale of live dogs and dog meat.

30’000 dogs smuggled into Nagaland every year

Animal welfare organizations have been campaigning for years to end the Indian dog meat trade and welcome this decision as an important turning point in ending the cruelty of India’s hidden dog meat trade. Estimates suggest that around 30’000 dogs are smuggled into Nagaland every year, where they are sold at live markets and beaten to death with wooden clubs.

The animal welfare campaign to end the dog meat trade was launched in 2016 with an investigation that revealed shocking video footage of dog meat death pits in Nagaland. Dogs were beaten to death in front of one another and struck multiple times during prolonged and painful deaths.

Alokparna Sengupta, Managing Director of Humane Society International / India, said: «The suffering of dogs in Nagaland has long cast a dark shadow over India, and this news marks an important turning point in ending the cruelty of India's dog meat trade. Our own investigation in Nagaland found that terrified dogs were subjected to horrific deaths in some of the worst acts of inhumanity toward animals that HSI / India has ever witnessed. And the dogs we have rescued from this trade over the years have had to relearn how to trust humans after the cruel treatment they endured.»

The consumption of dog meat is India prohibited under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Additives) Regulations of 2011. However, enforcement remains inadequate, and in the states of Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh, thousands of dogs are illegally snatched from the streets or stolen from homes each year and cruelly transported in sacks from neighbouring states to be brutally slaughtered for consumption by being beaten to death.

Appeal generates over 125’000 protest letters

Earlier this week, Indian Member of Parliament Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi urgently appealed to the government of Nagaland to ban the trade and consumption of dog meat, after receiving new photographs of the trade from an animal welfare organisation based in Nagaland. The appeal resulted in more than 125’000 people writing to the Nagaland government.

Sengupta of HSI / India continued: «We thank Smt. Maneka Gandhi for her leadership and the decisive impetus she provided in achieving this decision by the Nagaland government so swiftly after the latest evidence came to light. We also congratulate the government of Nagaland and offer our support to ensure that this decision is implemented consistently. The government of Nagaland has shown great leadership, and we call on other states such as Mizoram, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh to likewise introduce a ban on the dog meat trade.» More on the animal welfare issue of illegal animal trade on wildbeimwild.com.

The government of Nagaland is considering allocating land to house dogs rescued from the trade and to promote the adoption of these dogs. HSI / India, which has rescued more than 150 dogs from the dog meat trade, will work with PFA and the state government to support adoption and implement the practical mechanisms needed to enforce the new order and end the dog meat trade.