For the love of dogs

From The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

May 3, 2026 · 27 min

About this episode

This documentary explores the dog-rescue scams operating in Mityana, Uganda, revealing how scammers exploit animal lovers in the West.

Mityana is a bustling regional town in central Uganda, where motorbikes are king. Here an online con operation flourishes in plain sight. Armed with smartphones, emotional images, and carefully crafted lies, a network of young men preys on dog lovers in Europe and America - people who believe they are saving abused, sick, or dying animals. This documentary dives into the shadowy world of the dog-rescue scammers of Mityana. Through undercover reporting, BBC Africa Eye exposes how the scams work, and the lengths the scammers will go to extort donations from well-meaning animal lovers in the West.

People in this episode

Host: Nyasha Michelle

Topics covered

dog rescue scams
online con operations
animal lovers
undercover reporting
donation extortion

Keywords

dog rescue
scams
Mityana
Uganda
animal lovers
donations
undercover reporting

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC Africa Eye

Places: Mityana, Uganda