600,000 donkeys lost in a decade, survey shows

As the Kenyans celebrated the National Donkey Day yesterday, the government was urged to ban the export of donkey skin to contain illegal slaughter.

Exporters are believed to be making a fortune from the lucrative business that gained notoriety after the government ordered the closure of donkey abattoirs across the country.

Animal lobby groups yesterday raised concern about the declining population of donkeys, a situation they blamed on the illegal trade.

According to the Brookes East Africa lobby group which campaigns for the welfare of working animals, a survey carried out by the government indicated that close to 600,000 donkeys had been lost in 10 years.

Brookes EA regional manager Raphael Kinoti said that a 2009 survey showed that the population of donkeys stood at 1.8 million but the one carried out in 2019 showed that their numbers had dropped 1.2 million.

Kinoti said many of the animals were stolen, slaughtered by unscrupulous butchers and their meat sold to unsuspecting people.

Speaking at Rwamburi Animal Stock Theft Police Unit in Ndeiya sub-county on Wednesday as part of celebrations to mark National Donkey Day, Kinoti cautioned the public against consuming meat that has not been inspected.