Akwa Ibom Lawmakers Reject Bill To Stop Dog Meat Consumption

A bill seeking to criminalise dog meat consumption in Akwa Ibom State has been rejected by 25 of the 26-member House of Assembly.

Dog meat is a popular delicacy mostly consumed with palm wine by the people in Akwa Ibom and the neighbouring Cross River State.

In major towns, cities, and villages, such delicacies, laced with periwinkle and scent leaf, are familiar sights at roadside spots, including vendors balancing pots of dog meat on their heads for readily available customers.

But Hon. Uduak Ekpoufot, the House of Assembly member representing Etinan State Constituency, argued it was in bad taste and primitive habits to brutally kill dogs, mainly used as pets and for security purposes, for consumption.

The motion presented before the House during Wednesday’s plenary session, requesting the discontinuation of the illicit consumption and sale of dog meat, was unanimously shut down by the lawmakers, who stopped it from scaling through the first reading.

The bill failed to scale through the floor of the State House of Assembly after it received no seconder during plenary.

Hon. Ekpoufot had raised concerns over the inhumane slaughter of dogs, the unhygienic conditions involved and the serious public health risks associated with its consumption.

He argued that “the methods used to kill dogs were cruel, often involving strangulation, blunt-force trauma, or repeated blows before the eventual death of the animal.”

The lawmaker warned that poorly processed dog meat exposes consumers to dangerous pathogens such as rabies, salmonella, trichinella and other parasites, stressing that the practice has been banned in several countries due to safety concerns.

The motion failed to progress as it did not receive a seconder — a mandatory requirement under House rules.

And with no support from any other member, the Speaker, Udeme Otong (Abak), declared the motion rejected.