Tunisia sees boom in purebred dog trade 
Despite the inclement weather, crowds fill the yard at the Moncef Bay market in the Tunisian capital. The bodies of brokers, buyers and curious shoppers form a human umbrella, shielding the unusual merchandise from the heavy rain. While the wall of people conceals the goods for sale this Sunday morning, the noise gives the secret away.
The Moncef Bay market in Tunis sells dogs.
Today, purebred Rottweiler Laica is the star attraction. Her owners hope to sell her for 2,000 dinars.
Karim wears clothes too elegant for a crowded open market. He can clearly afford the asking price for the large dog.
"I offered 1,700 dinars, and I think it’s a good deal," he tells Magharebia. "Although it's true that Laica is very intelligent and good looking, she's old."
Tunisia's dog trade has prospered in the last few years, expanding from breeders serving the domestic market to import/export operators. Professional brokers obtain dogs less than 4 weeks old from Europe and Russia and export them to neighbouring Maghreb countries.
Moncef merchant Monther Ben Milad's customers are divided among dog lovers who buy and raise their own purebreds and professional traders who re-sell the dogs he provides.
"My best clients are Algerians, followed by Libyans, who have entered the market recently, especially young people who are crazy about fighter dogs like the Pit Bull," he says.
The Pit Bull is banned in the Maghreb, but that hasn't stopped motivated buyers, says Khaled, who refused to give his full name. "In spite of the fact that Pit Bull dogs are not allowed to be imported, there are people who can smuggle them in without any problems, especially if the dog is very young," he explains. "At that time, you cannot differentiate between it and a Boxer."
"It's not easy to come to this market if you don't have enough experience in the world of dogs to survive without being cheated," Khaled adds.
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Purebred Rottweiler Laica, the star of the lot, costs 2000 dinars. |
Rich clients even bring their own veterinarians to the market to help them decide if the dog is healthy and of pure blood. One such customer, Nizar ben Mahmoud, is mad about Mastiffs. "I have been crazy about this breed of dogs since I was little," he says. I'm not as concerned with the price I'll pay as I am with the breed of dog."
Caring for a dog is not easy in Tunisia: it requires huge expenses that very few can afford. It costs 30 dinars for a sick pet to see a veterinarian, not to mention pricey pet medicines. A sick human, on the other hand, pays only 20 dinars to see a family physician. According to pet dog expert Montassar ben Youssef, "A box of medicine for a sick dog costs the owner about 40 dinars. As to the price of a box of vitamins, it ranges from 60 to 220 dinars."
The minimum wage in Tunisia is about 230 dinars per month.
The cost of training jacks the price of dog ownership even higher.
"There are people who are interested in a guard dog; others who are interested in an escort dog; and a third category who is interested in an aggressive dog. There are also people who require all these types of training, which is a costly thing to the owner, ranging from 700 to 1,000 dinars," says Taoufik Boghanmi, an experienced dog trainer.
Taoufik is seeing more and more wealthy clients willing to pay for specialised dog training, most often for German Shepherds, Mastiffs, and Dobermans, the latter being "one of the most easy-to-train, highly intelligent breeds". The middle-class dog owner does not use training services for dogs, he adds, because "they don't own precious items at home that they fear would be stolen".
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German shepherds on display at Moncef Bay. |
The dog trade is not restricted to the Moncef Bay market. Newspapers have turned into a favourite resource for buyers and sellers of "pocket" or "decoration" dogs such as the Chihuahua or toy poodle.
"I am afraid to take my dogs to the market, lest they contract infections," says breeder Mounir ben Hafsia. He uses the newspaper.
In recent years, a new phenomenon has sprung up in Tunis: barber shops for dogs, offering canine coiffures and nail-clipping services.
Ms. Ilham, a typical doting dog owner, takes her apricot-coloured toy poodle to the barber shop for a hair wash with a special veterinarian-prescribed shampoo and a new style.
"She impatiently waits for this appointment, and I can feel her happiness after she undergoes the regular beautification process. This makes me happy," says Mrs. Ilham. "At first, she used to reject these visits to the barber shop, but now she has gotten used to them."
That a poodle waits impatiently for beauty treatments is amusing to most Tunisians.
Many compare the expenses incurred in caring for a single dog with the expense of caring for an entire family. "Some people put aside three-fourths of their salaries to care for their dogs," noted Mohhtar Hannachi.
"There is a proverb in Tunisian slang," he tells Magharebia on a tour of the Moncef market. "Only crazy people care about dogs".
