A proposal to start a legal dog meat butchery is underway with an aim of providing Chinese workers in the country a clean source of dog meat.
The proposal also seeks to prevent illegal hunting and killing of dogs.
This development comes in the wake of the kicking off of the Standard Gauge Railway project which will employ thousands of Chinese nationals, many of whom are believed to fancy dog meat.
A Nakuru town based businessman who breeds and sells dogs, Nahashon Shiundu, is petitioning the government to issue him with a license for a genuine dog meat business targeting Chinese people in the country.
Shiundu who talked to this writer recently at his farm located along the Nakuru-Nyahuru highway hinted that he had written to the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Kenya Railways Corporation and the main contractor to the project-the China Roads and Bridges Company, to allow him to open dog meat outlets in Mtito Andei (Voi) and South B (Nairobi). Shiundu said he is targeting the two main stations of the project.
“My aim is to legalise dog meat consumption in the country and stop the illegal slaughtering of dogs,” he said.
The dog merchant and former government veterinary officer said, in the past, cases of Chinese nationals working for construction companies in the country illegally hunting and slaughtering dogs were very rampant. This, he said, posed a danger to the environment and public health.
“Given the fact that the Standard Gauge Railways project will attract thousands of Chinese nationals, it is proof that the situation may be worse unless the government puts in place measures of prevention. I want to be part of that measure,” he opined.
He said his proposed merchandise will involve buying healthy dogs from owners across the country, stocking them and slaughtering them before distributing the meat to Chinese nationals in the country.
In the recent past, cases of Kenyans slaughtering and consuming dog meat have come to light with the most recent being reported in Naivasha where residents on two occasions helped police arrest some residents who were found slaughtering dogs with an intent of consuming the meat.
Dog meat is a normal food delicacy among many Chinese people and in other countries across the world.
The government has already issued work permits to more than five thousand Chinese workers who will be involved in the railway project.