Utalii College Defends Itself For Its Dog Meat Advert on Daily Nation

Hospitality institute, East African Utalii Institute has come out to refute claims by animal rights activists, that its ‘roasted dog’ advertisement was meant to encourage Kenyans to add dog meat to their cuisine. The institute which offers a variety of courses to local and foreign students in hotel and hospitality management, had the advertisement posted in  Daily Nation on 31,January 2014, portraying dog meat in a menu.
“This is a necessary debate if our hospitality industry is to compete at the international level. If done in an objective manner, the debate will break from the taboo ceiling that limits the array of our cuisine, especially for the Far East visitors,” said Mwangi Mbithi the Director of the institution.
“We have been told that the advert portrayed dogs as a finger-licking delicacy which might end up tempting residents here to opt for dog meat which is not the case at all,” added Mwangi.
Ms Jean Gilchrist, director of Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA), is opposed to the exotic cuisine, a delicacy in countries such as Vietnam and South Korea.
“Kenyan veterinary regulations prohibit dog meat consumption, given the health threats posed by dog meat such as rabies. Dog meat should not be consumed nor the idea encouraged,” said Gilchrist.
APOLOGIES: In an earlier version of this post, we published a photo of Utalii College when we actually meant East Africa Utalii Institute.
Apologies for any damage cost.