Lonely Planet: Bali: a dog's life Man's best fiendIf there's one thing wrong with Bali, it has to be those horrible, mangy, flea-bitten, grovelling, dirty, noisy, disgusting dogs. Why does the balmy isle have so many curs? Well, because they're cheap and efficient scavengers and garbage cleaners - and also because the Balinese accept them as part of their cosmology. A popular theory purports that the dogs were created to keep things in balance. Bali, this theory goes, is so beautiful and picturesque, that the dogs were put there to provide a contrast.
It's also widely believed that demons inhabit the dogs, which is why you'll often see them gobbling offerings put out for bad spirits. There may have a decline of the dog population over the last few years, though there hasn't been a concerted extermination campaign. Whenever the subject of canine culling is raised, locals make knowing comments about people, always from another part of Bali, who allegedly catch dogs to eat them. Balinese dogs certainly don't look appetising, but it takes a strong stomach to rid the world of evil spirits.
Photograph © Sally Woodward
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