In just three minutes, we saved 10 dogs and puppies from nightmarish cruelty in Kenya.
This past weekend, the Network for Animals East Africa team worked with our partner, the Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA), to carry out a dangerous undercover raid on an illegal dog hawker in Kitengela, just south of Nairobi.
Puppies trapped in bird cages. Dogs chained in terror. We knew we had to act fast to save them.
In just three minutes, we freed seven puppies from rusty bird cages and saved three traumatized, chained dogs – all victims of Kenya’s cruel, illegal puppy trade. Credit: NFA/Byron Seale
Seven tiny, malnourished eight-week-old puppies were found in rusting bird cages, baking in 90°F (32°C) heat, covered in ticks and fleas and lying in their own waste.
Beneath them, adult dogs were tightly chained, so traumatized by the cruelty they had endured that they flinched at human touch. And nearby, hidden away, a heavily pregnant dog was shackled to a fence – the seller waiting to profit from her unborn pups.
With the support of local police, we ensured that the perpetrator was arrested under Kenya’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, and transported all ten animals to the safety of the KSPCA shelter in Nairobi.
The raid was a success, but it is part of a much larger crisis in Kenya. A crisis we need your help to fight.
A pregnant mother, chained and treated as nothing more than a breeding machine. The hawker was waiting for her to give birth to sell her puppies – until we saved her. Credit: NFA/Byron Seale
Illegal puppy mills and roadside hawkers are exploding across Kenya, driven by unscrupulous, money-hungry breeders, a rising demand for “fashionable” dog breeds, and weak enforcement of animal welfare laws.
Every week, our team receives reports of more dogs being cruelly bred, caged, chained and sold.
Mother dogs are forced to breed repeatedly under appalling conditions, and their malnourished, unvaccinated puppies are ripped away and sold from filthy cages in blazing heat with no access to food, water or care.
We could not tell you about this raid before it happened to protect our team – rescue missions like these are often dangerous and can trigger violent counterattacks from those profiting off animal cruelty.
Fortunately, we scraped together enough emergency funds to act fast and save the animals. But now, the real work begins.
Following the hawker’s arrest, the rescued dogs and puppies were brought to the police station to be recorded as evidence of cruelty before beginning their new lives. Credit: NFA/Byron Seale
The 10 rescued animals are emaciated, infested with parasites and in desperate need of intensive medical care. But our partner shelter is already stretched to capacity with more than 300 dogs, and we need your help to give the rescued dogs and puppies the care they deserve.
After the horrors and abuse these animals have endured, their road to recovery will be a long one.
Only with your help can we give them the expert care they need to heal, while fighting to save more puppies and dogs.
With your support, we can help these tortured dogs and puppies survive and eventually find the loving homes they deserve, while stopping even more animal abusers in their tracks.
Your donation today will provide emergency medical care, vital vaccinations, nourishing food and safe shelter for the rescued dogs. Your support will also help us stop the abuse before it starts, funding critical surveillance and coordinated raids to locate and shut down the illegal breeders fueling this horrific trade.
Now safe at our partner shelter, the puppies face a long road to recovery, and countless others like them are still waiting to be rescued. Credit: NFA/Byron Seale
This raid wasn’t just about catching one perpetrator and saving 10 animal lives – it sent a powerful message: animal cruelty in Kenya will NOT be tolerated, and we and our partner will never stop fighting to end animal suffering for good.
To make that message even louder, to give rescued dogs the care they need and to shut down more of these cruel operations, we need your help.
Please donate generously today to save animal lives, fund future raids and bring hope to countless dogs still suffering in Kenya.
