DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Baluba Tribes People Believe Dog Meat Is Good For Ones Health

Record ID: 843364

  • Title: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Baluba Tribes People Believe Dog Meat Is Good For Ones Health
  • Date: 19th December 2001
  • Summary: (L!3) KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (RECENT)(REUTERS) SLV DONATIEN MWAMBA WALKING INTO HOMESTEAD SLV/CU FOOD BEING PREPARED (2 SHOTS) SV OF SEATS BEING ARRANGED (2 SHOTS) CU/SV BOTTLE/ MAN DRINKING FLUID (2 SHOTS) CU MEN PLAYING CARDS SV MEN DANCING TO MUSIC SV PEOPLE SEATED SLV CHILDREN WATCHING OVER DOG BEING ROASTED ON OPEN FIRE SLV MAN CARRYING ROASTED DOG ONTO TABLE SV/MCU OF PEOPLE EATING (3 SHOTS) CU DOG LOOKING ON/RESTING
  • Embargoed: 3rd January 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
  • City:
  • Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAD2HOIHWWCEG2GT0QE1KFRXHY
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: French actress-turned activist Brigitte Bardot is planning to protest against the consumption of dog meat in South Korea at next year's soccer World Cup finals. But in many parts of the world, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), dog meat is classed as a delicacy.
    Baluba tribes people in the DRC, like Donatien Mwamba, prize it for it's taste, and like the Koreans, they also believe dog meat is good for ones health. Who knows? It could be just what the doctor ordered for those stressed out by the upcoming World Cup.
    Welcome to the house of the Mwamba family, 20 kilometres east of central Kinshasa.
    Donatien Mwamba runs a small restaurant in his compound.
    Every day around lunch time, the household prepares for the arrival of the first customers.
    Donatien and his clients start out drinking Lotoko, a very strong local brew, playing cards, listening to music or dancing. This looks like the beginning of a relaxing afternoon.
    Now it's time for lunch and guess what's on today's menu.
    That's right. It's dog. D-O-G Dog meat is considered a delicacy in some regions of the Congo, especially by Baluba tribespeople, like Donatien.
    Animal rights activists would be outraged but Donatien isn't concerned. Man's best friend? Not to him.
    "Dogs, a companion for humans? Don't make me laugh. Since when is a dog a man's friend? What about pigs, goats and cats then? Are they our friends too? No, God gave us all of these to eat. There's no friendship between me and dogs!" said Mwamba.
    After a few minutes of bargaining, Donatien buys the dog for 1700 Congolese francs, approximately five dollars.
    Donatien kills the dog by hitting it on the head.
    After being skinned, the carcass is singed to get rid of stray hair. Then it's washed carefully with soapy water and cut into pieces.
    "We eat dog because it is our custom. The Bangala people eat snails, and Bandudu people eat snakes. It's not a matter of being hungry, or of lack of food," said Mwamba.
    The meat is cooked in tomato sauce with a lot of chilli pepper and served with pounded leaves and cassava paste.
    Dog meat lovers swear that it's good for you.
    "When you eat dog meat. Your level of blood rises, and you remain in good health. Look at my belly. You can see that I am in good health, thanks to dog meat and beer! This good meat can be eaten by anybody, men, women, people from any tribe,"
    said Lukusa Menda, a client at Mwamba's restaurant.
    In many parts of Africa eating dogs is taboo. The animal is considered as being too close to humans, or unclean.
    But Donatien's clients say dog is just as good as any other meat.
    "This meat is good, very good. It's the type of meat everybody would eat," said Menda.
    Some institutes have offered surprising support for the consumption of dog meat.
    At the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature, an organization dedicated to the protection of the country's wildlife they have nothing against people eating dog.
    "In terms of nature conservation, eating dog meat is actually good. Because when people eat meat from animals that have reared, there is less pressure on wild animals," said Henri-Paul Ekeliki, an official at the conservation institute.
    13 year-old Henri Lusangi raises dogs in his backyard for sale. He sells puppies for the equivalent of one and a half dollars each.
    "Many people in the neighbourhood, particularly Balubas come to buy young dogs from me to go and eat them. They often ask me to sell my female dog, but I refuse, because I want her to have more puppies," Lusangi said.
    Henri has no shortage of customers. Today, even people who come from ethnic groups who don't usually eat it are adopting dog meat for economic reasons.
    The problem is that beef at the equivalent of seven US dollars per kilo, has become unaffordable to most residents of Kinshasa.
    Other types of meat like mutton or goat are also too expensive for the poorest city dwellers.
    " These days we don't see many clients. I don't know why. It's probably the economic situation. Before we used to sell around a 100 kilos per day, but these days we only sell
    Business is really bad, said one local butcher."
    But not all butchers are ready to start selling dog meat to get more business.
    "Ah, it's very difficult. If we start selling that here, we'll loose many clients" the village butcher said.
    There are other butchers though who don't have any scruples about selling any kind of meat, so long as customers ask for it.
    "If demand is high, will look for dog meat and sell it.
    It's food like any other type of food," another butcher said.
    With no health regulations regarding dog meat, eating dog in the Congo can be a very risky business - But people like Donatien and his loyal customers who really enjoy the taste of dog meat aren't likely to give it a second thought.
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