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I slaughter cats and sell meat to samosa traders, man claims


Nakuru County police are holding a man suspected to have been selling cat meat to samosa traders in town.

The man told journalists at Ukulima Police Station that he has slaughtered more than 1,000 cats and sold the meat to the businesspeople since 2012.

He said he started the business after identifying a gap in market, though he admitted that his customers do not know he sells them feline meat.

The man added that he has a market for cat skin and that he earns about Sh500 for every animal he slaughters.

“I tell my customers that I get the meat from Gioto (the area Nakuru dumpsite is situated) but they do not know it is cat meat,” he told reporters and town residents who thronged the station.

CAT CARCASS

Police officers said he was arrested near the railway line while skinning a cat carcass. He had already slit its neck.

Mr Maina Saitoti and other residents said they saw the “odd-looking” man at the railway line and went to see what he was doing, only to notice that he was flaying a cat.

They descended on him with all manner of weapons before he was rescued by police officers.

“This means most of the food being sold in Nakuru town is not fit for human consumption. The man says he has a ready market and has slaughtered hundreds of cats. This is unbelievable and frightening,” Mr Saitoti said.

Mr Paul Asika, another resident, loudly wondered why a person should feed others on cat meat.

‘CAN’T BELIEVE IT’

“This is one of the worst news we have received in Nakuru for months. It is terrible and I can’t believe it,” Ms Emma Aoko said.

The man is locked up at Ukulima Police post and will appear in court this week.

Dr Githui Kaba, a veterinary officer, said slaughtering cats and selling their meat for consumption is against the country’s health laws.

“According to the Meat Control Act, it is dangerous to eat uninspected meat and flesh from animals not prescribed to be human food. The Act says cat meat is not food,” Dr Kaba said.