Our Wacpaw/EonA team in Ghana did a follow-up check at the Pelungu market where a spot under a big baobab tree is allocated for selling live dogs and butchering them for meat. As usual, some of the traders were a bit apprehensive about our engagement with them until their chief intervened. Nearly 40 dogs including puppies were brought for sale. Many of those who brought their dogs for sale did so because they needed money for basic needs like food and children’s school supplies. Others said they couldn’t afford vaccinations for their dogs and didn’t want them, especially the puppies, to die in their homes. For those who were buying, the majority did so mainly for sacrificial purposes and others for consumption. But incidentally both the sellers and buyers admitted that they were willing to stop if they have alternatives to earn money or treat their dogs.
We will be going back there to collect data on their specific needs and plan an effective intervention that could help prevent so much suffering and possibly save the lives of the many dogs that are sold here. Restraint and slaughter conditions are very poor.
