Hyenas, cats, marabou stork, buffaloes, other wild meat Kenyans eat unknowingly

Marabou stork Nairobians could be eating marabou storks without their knowledge. The birds, also known as the 'undertakers', scavenge in their thousands at the Dandora dumpsite from where they're sourced cheaply by crooked hotel operators. Though unfit for human consumption, the 'undertakers' are slaughtered in nearby slums and delivered to various city hotels. And while slum dwellers around the dumpsite knowingly feast on the storks, the rest of the city could be feeding unsuspectingly on the birds. "The marabou's meat is cheaper and many who eat it are the regulars at chang'aa dens and mutura places. Regular customers love it," said a local who operates at the dumpsite. Dog fry In 2022, a man was arrested by police over suspicion of selling dog meat to unsuspecting meat lovers. Ndirangu Wahome made a living hawking 'tasty' fried meat - according to some residents who spoke to the media - in a hot pot at Wanjohi town, in Kipipiri. Police found a fresh dog's head in Wahome's home. Another dog lay chained in the compound: police suspected it was next on the chopping board. Cat samosas In June 2018, James Mukangi, a middle-aged man, was arrested skinning a cat in an open field in Nakuru. Mukangi later confessed to having been supplying 'specific' samosa makers with the meat since 2012. Buffalo in Burma In June 2019, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers impounded 800kg of bush meat being sold to unsuspecting customers as beef at Burma. Two months later, in August, a team of KWS officers arrested three men on Marula farm, off the Nairobi-Nakuru highway in Naivasha, with over 200kg of buffalo meat packed in a van. Ibis bird alias Ng'anga in Seme Locals call it "Ng'ang'a," due to its noisy nature, especially when it's excited or when its life is in danger. But in English it is called Ibis bird, a name derived from Egypt where it was traditionally regarded as a sacred bird. In the Luo culture, it was one of the birds that residents loathed and would hurl it with stones everytime it was seen near homesteads. But times have changed. Ng'anga is now a delicacy in Seme in Kisumu and a well-sought-after meal along the shores of Lake Victoria. Interviews with a number of residents established that tough economic times and dwindling fish stocks has pushed residents to target even wild birds and, in some extreme cases, hyenas. Abraham Gilbert Odhiambo is a fisherman at Bao beach in Seme Sub-County, Kisumu, and so it would be expected that his favourite dish would be fish or Omena, but he confesses his undying love for "Ng'ang'a". "We are the people who eat Ng'ang'a (Sacred Ibis). I have eaten it for five years and I am yet to find anything wrong with it. Ng'ang'a's body parts are bigger compared to those of a chicken and it's also more tasty than a chicken," Odhiambo says. He claims it's less expensive compared to chicken.

Hyenas, cats, marabou stork, buffaloes, other wild meat Kenyans eat unknowingly

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Hyenas, cats, marabou stork, buffaloes, other wild meat Kenyans eat unknowingly

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