Vet Urges A Stop To Consumption Of Dog Meat, Gives Reason

  A Veterinary Physician, Dr Omotayo  Aniagboso, has called for clampdown down on indiscriminate killing of local dogs species for consumption as dog meat to avoid their going into extinction.

Aniagboso, the Chief Executive Officer of Claws and Paws Animal/ Veterinary Clinic, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos during a free rabies vaccination exercise  to mark the World Rabies Day on Tuesday.

According to the World Health Organisation, World  Rabies Day  is celebrated annually to raise awareness about rabies prevention and to highlight progress in defeating this horrifying disease.

It says that September 28 also  marks the anniversary of Louis Pasteur’s death, the French chemist and microbiologist, who developed the first rabies vaccine.

The theme for 2021 World Rabies Day is  “ Rabies : Facts Not Fear.

NAN reports that in July 2021, a petition by some Nigerians online called for the ban on the consumption of dog meat in Nigeria

The petition alleges that the dog meat trade in Nigeria had increased and that dogs were brought in from neighbouring countries.

Aniagboso said: “Our local species of dogs are being killed and they can go out of extinction; they are indigenous to us and cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

“Many foreigners come to us to request for our local breeds called ‘Basengi”  which they love while we spend more money to buy foreign dogs as pet which are expensive to maintain,” she said.

The physician also kicked against consumption of dog meat known as ‘404’   to avoid contacting diseases which may have no cure.

“ We strongly advise those into the business of killing and cooking of dog meat  to go into other business than killing our unique local dogs for food.

“They can also be exposed to contacting rabies in the process of killing a rabid dog by touching its saliva, thereby contacting the disease before cooking,” Aniagboso told NAN.

According to her,  viral infections such as rabies and norovirus and bacterial infections including Pasteurella, Salmonella, Brucella,  staphylococcus aureus are the most common viral and bacterial zoonotic infections transmitted to humans by dogs.

“We are looking at Vision 2030 to completely eradicate rabies in Nigeria for dogs and human beings who could  infected by stray dogs

“Each year we try to sensitise the public on the need to  vaccinate their pets especially dogs and cats against rabies.

“COVID-19 ,  Malaria, Ebola, HIV can be treated. Rabies is one of the diseases in the world that cannot be treated and that is why vaccination is  100 per cent prevention for rabies,” she said.

A pet owner who brought his dog for the vaccination and pleaded  anonymity told NAN that consumptions of dog meat should be highly discouraged.

He said dogs should be taken and treated as pets and not as food items like cow meat.

“Dogs are friendly creatures and are even more loyal than humans. If they are treated well with love , one is sure of protection and having a friend in the home,” he said. ( NAN)( www.nannews.ng)

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