By Nneka Nwogwugwu
An activist, Natasha Choolun has registered a petition to ban eating of dog and cat meat in Nigeria.
According to Choolun who registered the petition on Change.org, stated that Nigeria’s dog meat trade has become so prosperous that dogs are taken from surrounding countries such as Niger and transported into Nigeria, to bolster it’s growing demand for dog meat, also known as “4O4.”
The petition further stated, “While Nigeria has a growing number of pet owners who have dogs and cats as companions and not for consumption, these owners live in constant fear of having their companion stolen by local dog or cat thieves, knowing their pet would be sold to a dog trader or butcher, for quick cash.
“Arriving at dog markets, exhausted dogs are unloaded for sale, then crammed back into different cages and reloaded onto different trucks for more grueling journeys toward dog slaughterhouses, where they face a brutally violent death.
“Nigeria’s Slogan “Good People Great Nation” should also include it’s animals, and consequently engage police and magistrates to be in sympathy with Nigeria’s animal cruelty laws, to implement and enforce them.
“Known as the conference hub and cultural nerve-center of Africa, Nigeria, with wealth from it’s oil and gas industry, now participates on the world stage of fashion and design industries, and international tourism. However, local residents and international tourists are placed in jeopardy because of the constant threat to health through transmittable diseases such as rabies, related to Nigeria’s dog and cat meat trade.
“It is unfortunate that Nigeria’s positive new image is tainted by the existence of a cruel dog and cat meat trade which casts a negative shadow over Nigeria. Dogs and cats are companion animals and not food items.”
In making her demands for a change, Choolun urged President Muhammadu Buhari to;
– Implement existing laws against animal cruelty, maltreatment and neglect.
– Provide funding for trap, neuter and release programs to prevent street dogs and cats from breeding.
– All dogs and cats to be vaccinated against rabies.
– Ban dog and cat meat in Nigeria and shut the trade down.