DOUBLE TROUBLE FOR BEAST

Double trouble for beast of burden killed for food

By Marion Wagaki

The drastic decline in the population of donkeys in Kenya has raised an outcry among local and international animal rights activists, prompting government intervention. From a population of 1.8 million donkeys in 2010, this has dropped to below 1.2 million, mainly due to the ill-fated 2012 government decision to allow their slaughter for meat and hides. According to official figures, 301,977 donkeys were slaughtered between 2016 and 2018 by the four licensed slaughterhouses in the country. The figure could be higher because of unreported cases. The rapid decline in the population of donkeys left lobbyists and farmers baying for the shutting down of the slaughterhouses in a bid to protect the prized domesticated animals. Prompted by the raging protests, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya in February 2020 banned abattoirs from slaughtering donkeys. The CS said the 2012 decision that legalised trade in donkey meat and hide to meet growing demand in China had been a mistake as it had caused their population to fall. There is a huge demand for donkey skin in China where the skins are boiled to produce gelatine, an essential ingredient in Chinese ‘ejiao” products - popular health foods and traditional medicine. The ejiao

The drastic decline in the population of donkeys in Kenya is mainly due to the ill-fated 2012 government decision to allow their slaughter for meat and hides.

products can sell for up to $400. UK-based charity The Donkey Sanctuary estimates that 1.8 million skins are traded every year, but the demand is as high as 10 million. According to government data, China’s donkey population dropped from 11 million in 1990 to three million today. Botswana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda have also joined Kenya in banning donkey products to China. The mass slaughtering of donkeys had also spawned a black market in Kenya, with skin-smuggling networks hiring gangs to steal donkeys. The value of an adult donkey more than quadrupled. Women and men from farming communities had protested outside Munya’s offices demanding action to protect the donkey population. Some carried a placard that read: “When donkeys are stolen or killed, women are turned into donkeys.” Other than their increased decline due to the ravishing appetite of consumers back home, abattoir owners, mainly originating from China, piled on the woes bedevilling the beast of burden.

Donkeys play a key role in Kenya’s agricultural economy and about 75% are working animals used in transport and farming, fetching water, firewood, carrying farm produce and other goods. Despite the vital role they play in the rural and pastoral economy, nearly 40% of the working donkey population is suffering under disturbing conditions, suffering from work-related injuries, malnutrition and lameness.

With the decline in numbers aggravated during the slaughter spree, donkey farmers expressed fears that their herds would be wiped out if the trend continues. The farmers, through the Alliance for Donkey Welfare Organizations in Kenya (ADWOK) have urged the government to maintain the ban on the slaughter of donkeys, calling for increased vigilance on the activities of the slaughterhouses. Farming Systems Kenya Executive Director Dr Raphael Kinoti says the increase in global demand for donkey skin had led to the establishment and licensing of four export slaughter houses in the country between 2016 and 2018.

“The licensed slaughterhouses in four counties include Goldox Kenya Ltd in Baringo County, Star Brilliant Donkey Abattoir in Nakuru County, Silzha Ltd in Turkana County and Fuhai Machakos Trading Co. Ltd in Kithyoko, Machakos County,” explained Kinoti. Kinoti says research conducted by Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) in 2019 showed that donkey keepers and users whose livelihoods depended on the donkey earn an average of Sh11,390 per month from providing transportation services. “The 2019 census shows that the country has a population of 1.8 million donkeys and within the three years, it lost a third of that population from both licensed and bush slaughter of the animals,” notes Kinoti. Speaking in Nairobi during a forum on the update on the ban of donkey slaughter, Kinoti said that in a day, 1,200 donkeys could be slaughtered and in a very short time their population would be decimated. He said the problem of donkey theft begun when community members were willing to sell their animals due to the attractive prices they fetched from brokers to the slaughterhouses. CS Munya revoked the licences of the four main donkey slaughterhouses, giving them a one-month notice to shift to handling other animals like sheep, goats and cattle. According to Kiambu Donkeys Owners Association Chair, Leonard Kagwi , the government in 1999 gazetted the donkey as a food animal with the aim of curbing bush slaughter and improving food security. He says increased demand for donkey skin from global markets threatens the existence of the animal. “The annual rate of 5.1 percent of donkeys slaughtered is five times higher than the annual population growth rate that stands at 1.4 percent. This is a devastating state of affairs for the donkey farmers mainly because it is reducing the country’s donkey population,” says Kagwi. Lucy Erika a donkey farmer from Turkana says donkeys play a crucial role in the hard terrain as it acts as an ambulance to take the sick and elderly to hospital, and helps in carrying their belongings as they migrate in search of pasture and water. “The slaughter of donkeys has brought insecurity in our communities and rendered us vulnerable because when one wants to steal your donkeys, they most likely will hurt you or kill you so that they can take away the animals,” said Erika.

There are more than 40 million donkeys in the world, mostly in developing countries, where they are used principally as draught or pack animals. Working donkeys are often associated with those living at or below subsistence levels. Small numbers of donkeys are kept for breeding or as pets in developed countries.