Africa is a continent made up of many countries. Over 20 of these countries consume dog meat, mainly for enjoyment of the taste and the false belief that dog meat will act as a medicine and aphrodisiac. However, some of the countries are forced to eat dog meat out of necessity to stay alive.

With a population of almost 200 million people, Nigeria is the largest consumer of dog meat in Africa, where it’s mainly eaten for enjoyment of taste. Because of the high volume of dogs slaughtered, rabies is a serious problem. In a study conducted inside Nigerian slaughterhouses, results showed 5% of slaughtered dogs tested positive for rabies, which was still transmittable even after death.

The African dog meat trade is not regulated and therefore steeped in cruelty. The slaughterhouses are filthy and the slaughter methods brutal. Dog butchers answer to no-one.

Eating dog meat was looked down upon for decades in Ghana, but in 2009 dog meat began to be cleverly marketed and is now an accepted food which is eaten for taste, not necessity. A number of studies have been conducted in Ghana to try and monitor the abuses in it’s dog meat trade and monitor the cash money exchanging hands when buying and selling dogs for meat. Ghana is also host to a serious rabies problem.

A dog butcher in Ghana complained about having to “maul the animal to numb it before opening it up,” meaning having to bludgeon the dog  before butchering it. He went on to describe his love of dog meat and his business of “botching and dressing dogs for dealers.” He boasted that he supplies the dog meat for Ghana’s burgeoning kebab market.

The same butcher said he gets spiritual nourishment from dog meat. “Before I started eating dog meat, I suffered attacks in my dreams. I found myself being perpetually chased. Today, insha Allah, I am now the predator instead of the hunted. I no longer wake up battered and bruised spiritually. I chase my enemies now.”

Fight Dog Meat will continue to publish information on Africa’s dog and cat meat trade.

Thank you for reading,

Michele Brown
Founder,
Fight Dog Meat.