Nagaland government bans sale of dog meat after netizens rally cause

The Nagaland government has decided to ban the commercial import and trading of dogs and dog markets and also the sale of the meat, both cooked and uncooked, a senior state official said on Friday.

In a tweet, state Chief Secretary, Temjen Toy, announced the decision and appreciated the "wise decision" taken by the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Neiphu Rio. He also tagged BJP MP Maneka Gandhi, an avowed animal rights activist, in his tweet.

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Demands from netizens

The decision comes in the wake of the image of dogs being sold at Dimapur markets surfaced online on social media, causing an outcry. Recently, Pritish Nandy, a prominent poet, and former Rajya Sabha MP, took to Twitter, appealing to his followers to join a movement to ban the sale and consumption of dog meat in Nagaland markets.

He asked people to send an email to the Nagaland Government demanding a ban on dog markets, dog restaurants, and smuggling of dogs into the state. He called consumption of dog meat "inhuman" and "illegal".

Netizens took up the initiative and made the cause viral on social media.

Dog meat is widely consumed in parts of the North East and there are no formal laws to keep a check on the dog meat market. There are also no laws about consuming rabbits and monkeys.

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