The political economy of informal dog breeding businesses in Harare’s high-density suburbs, Zimbabwe, 1990-2019.

Abstract

This paper examines the emergence of informal dog breeding businesses in Zimbabwe’s high-density suburbs between 1990 and 2019. It uses the dog breeding practices of the working-classes and informal workers as an entry point into the global dog historiography that overly focuses on the dog breeding practices of the ruling classes and of the middle classes in Western Europe and in North America. It, thus, provides an animal-sensitive assessment of the Zimbabwean crisis drawing from archival sources, newspapers and from digital ethnography. It argues that the dog breeding practices of the working-classes and informal workers in Harare’s high-density suburbs avails a global south dog history that is not overly influenced by Western Kennel Club rules and breeding standards. The paper also focuses on the various types of dogs that gained popularity at different times owing to Zimbabwe’s changing political-economy during the period under review. Informal dog breeders bred different dog breeds at different times in reaction to the fashionable trends to solve evolving urban security needs as a result of changing urban sub-cultures. These informal dog breeding businesses created strong downstream and upstream business ventures that enabled successful dog breeders to attain breadwinner statuses during the Zimbabwean crisis. It concludes by showing that human-dog relations changed during the Zimbabwean crisis in Harare’s high-density suburbs.

Cet article examine l’émergence des activités officieuses d’élevage canin dans les banlieues densément peuplées du Zimbabwe entre 1990 et 2019. Il emploie les pratiques d’élevage de chien des classes ouvrières et des travailleurs informels comme point d’entrée dans l’historiographie mondiale des chiens qui se concentre par trop sur les pratiques d’élevage de chiens des classes dirigeantes et des classes moyennes en Europe occidentale et en Amérique du Nord. Cela fournit ainsi une évaluation sensible aux animaux de la crise zimbabwéenne en s’appuyant sur les sources d’archive, les journaux et l’anthographie numérique. L’article avance que les pratiques d’élevage canin des classes ouvrières dans les banlieues densément peuplées de Harare sert à une histoire des chiens du Sud mondiale qui n’est pas excessivement influencée par les règles du Club Canin Occidental et les normes d’élevage. L’article se concentre aussi sur les différents types de chiens qui ont gagné en popularité à différentes périodes du fait de l’économie politique changeante du Zimbabwe au cours de la période considérée. Les éleveurs canins informels ont élevé différentes races de chiens à différentes périodes en réaction aux tendances de la mode pour résoudre les besoins changeants en sécurité urbaine. Ces activités informelles d’élevage canin ont créée de fortes entreprises en aval et en amont qui ont permis à des éleveurs canins ayant réussi d’atteindre le statut de personnes gagnant leur vie pendant la crise zimbabwéenne. Il conclut en montrant que les relations entre les humains et les chiens ont modifié la crise zimbabwéenne dans les banlieues densément peuplées de Harare.

Keywords:

• Informal dog breeding businesses
• Harare
• Zimbabwe

Mot clés:

• Activités officieuses d’élevage canin
• Harare
• Zimbabwe

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Statement of ethics

The research was conducted with approval from the Stellenbosch University and the University of the Free State and ethical approval was obtained from the ethics committee at Stellenbosh University. Permission to conduct the interviews for the purposes of this research was obtained from the Harare City Council. All respondents were fully informed about the purposes of this research and how their responses would be used and stored. All interviewees gave consent to be interviewed for the purposes of this research. All interviewees also consented to interviews being used for publication purposes. The participations, observations and interviews were based on the full interest and consents of dog-owners in Harare which was obtained through extended stays and interactions with the people in the villages.