…Ranks third highest dog consuming country in the world – Report
From Jude Dangwam, Jos
Dawaki dog market is the largest of its kind in Nigeria. Located in Kanke Local Government Area of Plateau State, it attracts buyers from various parts of the country and beyond.
•Dogs about to be moved out of the market
The dog market started as a meeting point for travellers during the trans-Sahara slave trade. It was where various slave merchants met with their goods (slaves) to be bought or sold.
•Fidelis
It began to evolve and people started bringing various items and animals such as donkeys from the far north for sale, other than trading in human beings.
The ancient slave trading point has continued to sustain its contact with the far northern states of Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Yobe, Jigawa, and Adamawa and countries like Niger Republic, Chad, Cameroon through dog trading.
Hundreds of youths have embraced the business as dog hunters often prepared for the long journey to some West African countries to get dogs and supply to the market on a daily basis, as the demands for dog meat keeps rising in recent times.
The dog market, over the years, has continued to churn out revenue running into millions of naira to the local council on its Thursday market day. There is a head count revenue policy of N50 per dog.
Women are key players in the buying and selling of dogs at both the old and new Thursday Dawaki dog markets to the Calabar buyers and, in recent times, the Igbo. It is a weeklong market with the exception of Sunday. The town bubbles with animal traders coming from the southern and eastern parts of the country.
•One of the dog buyers
Dawaki dog market is always at its peak from November through December to the dry season. Only purely local dogs are sold there.
Dog hunters are usually seen moving in batches to not only far northern states of Nigeria but also to Niger Republic, Chad and Cameroon with equipment for hunting. Sometimes, they spend weeks or months hunting, depending on each person’s luck.
•Golwa
The chairman of Dawaki dog market, Mr. Mark Golwa, gave insights into the name, which he said originated from animal’s trading at the end of the slave trade. He noted that the Hausa-speaking natives often brought donkeys in their numbers and, sometimes, the donkeys got missing around the Dawaki area, which necessitated the naming of the area as Dawakai (Donkey’s place).
“So, Dawaki dog market is today an international market because we are in contact with other African countries for this trade. Aside from that, people across different states of Nigeria do come to buy dogs and take them to their states,” he said.
•Inside the market
The Ngas ethnic nationality are involved in this old trade. They go as far as Niger Republic, Chad and Cameroon to bring dogs, which makes Dawaki pronounced as the centre of dog trading, where all hunters going to neighbouring countries will have to bring their dogs for sale after hunting.
“Normally, people from Calabar and Akwa Ibom do come with oil. After selling their oil, they will buy dogs and take home. But today, it will interest you to know that the Igbo have joined this dog business.
“They used to go for goats but they now prefer going for dog meat than goat meat. They have been coming from Anambra, Enugu and the rest of them,” Golwa explained.
In a single day, over 20 buses set out for the far North to load dogs being harvested by the dog hunters in the region and other African countries.
“If you look up there, you will see buses in their numbers lined up. They are all moving to far northern Nigeria to load dogs. By tomorrow you will see them coming back with loads of dogs.
“A single bus could carry nothing fewer than 100 dogs. Before the week runs out, we will be talking of over 1,000 of dogs being brought into Dawaki market,” he said.
The Ngas are known for their farming and hunting ability and traditional medicine practice. These traditional healers are sometimes appreciated by patients with food items or gifts such as dogs.
Ngopar Ali, a father of eight, and Badamasi Angas, both traditional medical healers and also dog hunters for over 30 years who spoke with Daily Sun narrated how they survived and sustained the dog trade, using the ancient slave route laid down for commerce and the economic emancipation of the hill people.
“This is a trade we grew up and saw our grandfathers doing and we embraced it too. During rainy season, we go back to our farms, but when it is November, we resume dog hunting.
“Whenever we go to the far north for dog hunting, we normally attend to some illness as traditional doctors and with God’s help such patients get healed. So, while dog hunting, we normally blow horns, which is traditionally known to be our people (Ngas) looking for dogs.
“The Hausas used to give us free and collect items like machete, shovel, head-pan and drums, which they used to provide water for their animals, among other uses. But today things have changed. We now buy the dogs from them but it is cheaper than here.
“That is the same thing we do whenever we go to Maradi in Niger Republic, Chad or Cameroon for dog hunting, . But in those countries, we do trek from Nigeria’s border by foot to those communities and trek back after harvesting the dogs.
“Sometimes even when we enter Nigeria’s borders, we cover over 120 kilometres with the dogs before we eventually get cars and get back to Dawaki market here.
“We do carry some traditional herbs and roots that our forefathers have shown us and the Niger people know that we have those roots in our land. So, we handle things like epilepsy and impotence, among other ailments. Sometimes, we are paid in cash and sometimes they give us dogs. So, the money we get there we us it to buy dogs and food to feed the dogs.”
The Thursday market and the daily market has continued to build various categories of links: from the suppliers to the dealers who buy in bulk and to the retailers and, finally, those who cook and sell the meat for consumption.
There are also pig sellers, transporters, dog cage-loaders, knife sellers and dog chains sellers, among others making their daily living from the Dawaki dog market.
Mr. Timothy Kurtat, who was once a dog hunter and has now upgraded to a dog dealer at the market, disclosed that for over 23 years he hunted dogs for a living but he now supplies dogs to Calabar and Igbo people.
“I used to be a dog hunter. We used to go to Kano and Niger Republic. Whenever you get there, you have to be blowing a horn and people will know that dog hunters had come and somebody would say: ‘come, my dog is misbehaving these days, come and take it away.’
“In those days, Calabar people used to come here with over 10 trucks. They would buy and load dogs back to their place. But now we buy and waybill it to them.
“I buy between 30 and 40 dogs every day and send to them. There are bigger dogs that go for N55,000, there are those of N35,000 and N40,000, N28,000 and 4,000,” he explained.
He added that sometimes dog hunters in the far north moved round some markets, which sometimes came with greater luck. While moving round the markets, somebody would say, ‘come to my house tomorrow and catch my dog, I dash you.’
“For example from the border of Niger Republic to Katsina in Nigeria is almost 80km, and you have to trek into Katsina town and get a car back to Plateau,” he volunteered.
Under the scotching sun in the desert, the dog hunters remain resolute in meeting their targets. They endure all hardship, believing that life outside home will always not be a bed or roses.
“In Niger Republic, there is nothing like car, you just dress up for dog hunting with your luggage inside a sack and carry it like a kit bag. You trek and move around, blowing your horn. We have our dog hunting horns. Whenever you are blowing it, you will hear dogs barking at you. Somebody would ask you if you want dogs.
“In the event you do not get it in a particular community, you trek to another community and keep blowing the horns while going. Wherever the sun sets on you, you sleep there. The next day, you continue hunting until you get at least one or two dogs before you turn. Maybe, before you reach your starting point, you will get some again. We are usually scattered in all the nooks and crannies of Niger, Chad and Cameroon,” he said with pride.
The dog business has created a wide range of opportunities for different categories of persons. Madam Mary Kirshinen, a dog seller, said she got involved in the business as a young girl.
She said: “Growing up, I met my elder sisters and other women in the house doing this business, while my elder brothers went dog hunting in Kano and other places.
“They sent the dogs to me here in Dawaki to sell. That was how I became used to the dog business and, so far, I have spent 21 years in it.
“Sometimes, if I have enough goods (dogs), I make a profit of over N50,000 in a day. But if I don’t have money but play one role or another, I could make between N10,000 and N20,000.”
On the involvement of women in the buying and selling of dogs, Mary said: “Our men don’t give too much attention to buying and selling of dogs. They prefer going to hunt because they understand the intricacies and feel it is more lucrative for them than what we are doing here.
“So, if government can help us with soft loans, it will boost our businesses because we are going to be buying more dogs and selling them. It is through this business I take care of my children and pay their school fees.”
Maryamu Tokoeda, a mother of four, told Daily Sun that her husband goes for dog hunting and sends the dogs for her to sell and cater for the family.
“I have been in this business for 16 years. My husband is also into it but he often goes to Kano for dog hunting. Anytime he moves, I’m afraid of what may happen on the way but we have no choice because that’s the only business we are doing to take care of our family. If we can get any soft loan, I know that it will change our life as a family,” she said.
There are many women in the dog meat section. Madam Dorkat Joseph is one of those who have been into dog meat business for over 20 years. She inherited the business from her family which has a long history of dog business in Dawaki.
She noted that she often killed five to eight dogs a day and looked forward to more support to expand her venture by engaging at least 20 women in the line of dog meat business while they make returns of certain percentage to her.
Dorkat believes that such will help in empowering a lot of women, who often times are idle through out the dry season.
“From this dog meat business, which I inherited from our great grandfathers, I take care of my six children. I pay their school fees; some are in secondary schools. I pay house rent and their medical bills.
“If I can get N1 million today, I will add to my business, I have four people already working with me. I buy dogs, cook and give them to sell and they give me my percentage but with N1 million I will engaged up to like 20 women and will reduced idleness among young women. They will also help their families,” she said.
The women also make local brew (mous). They put it in jerry cans and send them to their husbands and brothers staying in the far north and Niger Republic.
The local liquor often serve as their source of sustenance, pending when they make good harvest and return to Dawaki.
Most women in the business get loans from cooperatives and church women groups. Some get loans from commercial banks or government grants.
Women in dog marketing often pray for February to come as most loans windows are open for them to access for their businesses in the dry season. There are loans that are payable in two weeks, and those for a month or months, depending on the amount one was able to access.
The states involved in the business include Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe and Adamawa. However, buyers like Mr. Kenneth Fidelis from Enugu State said the venture has been so lucrative. He disclosed that he started in Kaduna State and later shifted to the Dawaki dog market.
He said: “It is almost three years now I have been into dog business. I introduced myself into the business by starting with a single dog. I bought one dog from Kaduna and sent it to my friend in Enugu and the little profit I made from it I appreciated it and decided to go for more.
“The next time, I bought three dogs and from there I continued to move round. Today, I buy over 70 dogs and will be transporting them to Enugu State from this Dawaki Dog Market. There are dogs of N40,000 or N45,000 depending on your financial strength.
“A friend introduced me to Dawaki Dog Market and I found out that it is more expensive here than Kaduna, but then one can buy in large quantity at once. But in Kaduna, you have to be patient for some time before you get them. But I can tell you that there are gains and losses in the business, if you are not patient you won’t do the business.”
Dog consumption is believe not to be common among the Igbo, but Fidelis responded thus. “You know that one man’s food is another man’s poison, Some Igbo eat it while some do not.
The chairman of Dawaki Dog market, Mr. Golwa, who is also the Principal of Government Junior Secondary School Dawaki, said his educational attainment among other achievements came from dog hunting. Now, he supplies dogs to his business partners across the country.
He said the Thursday Dog Market requires a facelift. According to him, as an international dog market, they need such facilities as water, proper fencing of the market with good gates to curtail missing of dogs, proper drainage system to address the slippery environment during raining season as well as a vet clinic.
He said: “Among other challenges we are facing in this market, the animals we are trading sometimes bite. So, we normally resorted to traditional treatment because the Ngas people are known for traditional medicine. But whenever the situation persist, we advice the person to go and see a vet doctor at the Vom Veterinary Institute in Jos.
“We were told in Vom that whenever a mad dog bites anybody, we should cut off the head of the dog and bring it alongside the person. But come to think of it, imagine that dog bites somebody here in Dawaki and you have to take the person to Jos, before you get there anything can happen.
“The Kanke local government council earlier started a vet clinic inside the market but as you can see, it has been abandoned for some years.”
Meanwhile, a 2022 report by Matthew Nash ranks Nigeria as the third highest in dog meat consumption.
South Korea occupies the first position while Vietnam is second.
On reasons for dog meat consumption, a study disclosed: “Kanke people uses fragrant meat to repel witches and wizards, neutralize poison, boost body immunity and libido and make love charms.”