Case reports and investigation
The Issue
Kenyan law (CAP 360) sets standards for animal welfare, making it clear that animals have a right to decent treatment, including adequate food, water and shelter, medical care and freedom from cruelty, torture, or terror.
Unfortunately, this law is often not respected. Daily, we see cruel treatment. It is not uncommon for us to be called to a house where the occupants have moved out, leaving animals that have been locked inside for weeks without food. We see cases of violence and torture. We are particularly concerned about breeders who want to maximise profit by breeding animals intensively (mainly dogs) in filthy and unhealthy conditions. These dogs are then sold from the side of the road, sometimes drugged, tethered in the hot sun without shelter or water. We see working horses and donkeys being mishandled, overloaded, beaten and abused. Cats who are an annoyance being poisoned or having hot water thrown on them; dogs tied up 24 hours a day on chains so tight they are embedded in their necks.
There is little helpful public education on this issue and there is also limited capacity on the part of the mandated authorities to investigate and prosecute cases. We find that local police and county officials may want to help but are themselves overwhelmed by the volume of work facing them.
Our Programmes
KSPCA is at the front line of responding to cruelty cases and our authorised officers are mandated by law to investigate and act. We will investigate reports received. Sometimes this takes time. In many cases, we find corrective action is possible. If we find that improvements are needed and possible, we will issue a notification to improve, in coordination with the local authorities, and monitor to make sure things get better. However, sometimes the situation is so serious that we will seize the animals and register criminal complaints. It is very rare that criminal complaints are followed up, but we try to make sure that they are, and if we feel it is justified we will also take civil action in the courts.
Education and community awareness is very important, and we include this information in our campaigns and our community work. We are also working to set industry standards and improve regulation of industries such as dog breeding and the use of working horses and donkeys.
Our Work in Action
Ray
Ray was rescued along with 6 other dogs being held for breeding by a security company.
They were locked in a filthy cage and there was a dead dog present. They had not been fed for about a month and Ray was close to death. It is clear she had been bred intensively; some of the other dogs may have been her offspring. She is a loving girl whose priority is dinner and tummy rubs. A criminal complaint has been filed. We believe this breeder has many dogs in other locations and the investigation is ongoing.
How You Can Help
KES 500/= feeds a donkey recovering from wounds for a day
KES 1 000/= enables us to rescue a severely injured animal
KES 50 000/= per month supports a cruelty investigator.