Health officials are on high alert after a social media post on suspected dog slaughter and the sale of the meat to the public.
In a letter to the county directors of veterinary services director of Veterinary Services, Obadiah Njagi called for quick action against unscrupulous people selling meat to unsuspecting citizens.
"Dog is not a declared food animal in Kenya as per section 2 of Meat Control Act Cap 356. This, therefore, makes it illegal for any person, to slaughter any undeclared animal and offer the meat for sale to unsuspecting customers," the letter reads in parts.
Njagi stated that the slaughter and sale of dog meat constituted fraud and exposed consumers to zoonotic diseases. He urged citizens to be vigilant of such criminal activities by ensuring that all meat offered had undergone the necessary inspections and was approved by relevant authorities.
"I would like to request you to be extra vigilant to activities conducted by search unscrupulous persons. This is by ensuring that all meat offered for consumption in your respective counties is slaughtered in approved slaughter houses, duly inspected, stamped and transported under the control of inspecting officers," Njagi stated.
Illegal meat
The latest comes amidst a spate of illegal meat sold in butcheries across the country.
In June last year, police in Nyandarua arrested a man suspected to have been selling dog meat to unsuspecting buyers in Wanjohi area, Kipipiri sub-county.
Ndirangu Wahome was arrested after a concerned resident reported to the area chief that he was hawking suspected fried dog meat in a hot pot.
Slit dog head
Police raided the home of the suspected dog meat seller and upon searching in his compound they found a slit separate dog head, a sufuria which he used to cook the meat, a blood-stained knife and a blood-stained machete.
A wire which he used to trap the dogs and another live dog which is suspected to be waiting to be slaughtered were also found in the suspect's home.
In 2018, police in Nakuru arrested James Kimani who was selling cat meat to samosa vendors in the city.
Kimani claimed he had sold over 1,000 cats to samosa vendors and a hotel in Nakuru city since 2012. According to him, he had a market for cat skins and that he earned at least Ksh500 for every cat he slaughtered.
“I began this business in 2012 after I saw there was a need for the meat by samosa sellers. I tell my clients that I get the meat from Gioto (a popular dump site) but they do not know it is cat meat,” the suspect told journalists.
Kimani was arrested at railway area within Nakuru city while skinning a cat. He was jailed for three years after a Nakuru court found him guilty of the offence.
