Stolen pets: Namibia’s rising dog meat market concern 

Fillemon Shipanga woke up one day to find his dog missing from home.

Worried, the Enenye resident, a village on the outskirts of Oshakati in the Oshana region, asked his neighbours if they knew the whereabouts of his pet, Sparks.

After a long search that saw him going from one end of the village to another, Shipanga received a tip that someone had seen his dog being sold to kapana vendors at the busy Oshakati open market.

“I immediately drove to the open market where I found a man who stole my dog selling it at the open market at a very cheap price.

I was so devastated because that dog is my friend and I have been with it for quite some time,” Shipanga tells The Namibian.

He found Sparks alive.
Shipanga describes the trend as ‘sickening”. Here at Enenye village, the dog market is a booming business, and thieves often target dog owners like Shipanga.

“Thieves are so annoying because if they are not trying to steal our hard earned possessions then they are after our dogs, snatching them and selling them for kapana.

This is sickening and the police need to do something about such crimes,” says a frustrated Shipanga. He says Sparks is not just family, but was a deterrent against thieves.

He adds that a lot of people now own dogs to protect properties and also because more people consider their pets family.

“The thieves have realised that they can make quick money from selling dogs and now they are snatching them from the yards. We really love dogs because they are now family,” he says.

Albertina Nambele, another dog owner at Ehenya, says two of her dogs were stolen from her yard at night on separate occasions by thieves recently.

Nambele says that on another occasion, her dog was fatally poisoned at night by thieves trying to steal it from the yard.

“Thieves are now targeting our dogs. They come at night while everyone is fast asleep to steal our dogs which I believe they are selling to kapana vendors at the open market.

Dogs, are our friends and protectors but thieves do not see them as such, they see them as a business where they can cash out very fast. This is bad,” she says.

A GROWING TREND

In 2023, there was a national public outcry following the theft of eight-year-old Dalton, a Weimaraner stolen from his home at Rehoboth by four men who then slaughtered, cooked and ate him. There were calls for justice from various animal rights groups.

However, two years later, many dog meat lovers flocked to kapana vendors at the open markets, particularly in northern Namibia, to buy what they call “delicious and organic” meat – most of which has been stolen from their owners, some vendors admitted.

Everyday, pets are snatched off the streets, from yards and even while out on a walk without their owners and sold off at a cheaper price.
These dogs make a brutal journey to the open market, where a gruesome death awaits them.

The meat is loved by many and it is sold at a higher price especially when it’s cooked.

Souma Iipinge, a kapana vendor at Oshakati open market yesterday said dog meat is loved by many because it is delicious and rare.

She said she gets stock for her kapana business from men who walk around the open market selling dogs.
A live dog can be sold for about N$200 depending on the size and breed, she said.

“We just buy live dogs and slaughter them ourselves. It’s a pity because we don’t know if the dogs that are sold here are stolen or not, if someone approaches me selling a dog, I just buy. The dogs are sold in broad daylight and we cannot suspect anyone.

This is a business that puts bread on the table for my family and it is thriving,” she said.

She added that she makes a profit of about N$1 000 from a whole dog carcass.
“Dog meat is loved by many. A small piece can be sold at N$20 or more if it is cut big.

Every day, customers come here looking for dog meat and it is our duty to make sure that we always have dog meat in stock always. I’m also against thieves and if anyone is found stealing dogs, they must face the music and get locked up. Crime is not good,” she said.

She said most of their customers are adults and young people.

Another vendor at the Oshakati open market, Elina Ndengu says that she has been selling dog meat for years and she buys her dogs for slaughter from the streets because she has no supplier.

“I buy my dogs from anyone I see selling their dog. I do not have a constant supplier.

Dog meat is rare anywhere. We are not sending people to go and steal anyone’s dogs, no. They come to us selling their dogs and we buy like any other customer. We do not encourage stealing of anyone’s dogs or properties,” she said.

Oshana community policing chief inspector Thomas Aiyambo says he was not aware of dog theft cases being rampant as his office did not receive any complaints from the aggrieved victims.

He, however, encourages community members to report any cases of dog theft to the police, adding that dog theft is a serious offence.
“Stealing dogs and selling them to kapana vendors is a serious concern because that is animal cruelty and if anyone is found guilty, they can face jail time.

This is serious and whoever is stealing other people’s dogs must stop it. The police will look into these complaints as a matter of urgency,” he says.

Inspector Aktofel Malima of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in the Oshana region says they have received many reports of dog thefts with many complaining of thieves selling their dogs to kapana vendors at the open market.

He says when someone reports a case of dog theft to their offices, they try to assist the victims to file police cases and get the culprits arrested.
“We have received many cases of dog theft in the north.

Almost every day we are receiving cases of dog theft but it is a bit hard to assist the victims because we don’t really know if their dogs are being stolen for kapana meat.

It is a bit hard. However, we encourage the victims to file police cases and continue to report any cases of dog theft to the police or to our offices. The situation is alarming and it’s about time the police put an end to this barbaric tendency,” he says.

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