Trade on donkey skin still threat in Africa
By Steve Umidha, May 18, 2022The trade on donkey skin and hides is still on-going within the Horn of Africa.
This was revealed by the charity group Brooke East Africa during a press conference in Nairobi when marking the National Donkey Day.
“Despite the ban on the exportation of donkey skin and hides within the region, we are still witnessing a number of cases where the trade on these commodities are still thriving. The key areas are in Lodwar in Turkana county.” says Dr Raphael Kinoti, Regional Director, Brooke East Africa.
Dr Kinoti attributes the rise of donkey trade to the porous boarders and lack of unified integration on security matters.
“We tend to believe that the trade has been facilitated by the perennial conflict in the region which has created an avenue for the trade.We call upon the government to tighten security in the region and help protect the donkey which a key source of income for most locals.”
The beast of burden has been fronted as an economic empowerment pillar among the grassroots population and especially among women.
“As of now 32 of the 47 counties are in arid and semi-arid areas. They are a major means of transport mostly for water and unlock movement where transport is locked. In so doing, they support communities” Dr Kinoti pointed out.
He added that the “Over the years our government has neglected this animal to an extent that it’s not considered in National planning. There are manuals developed on how to rear animals yet there is none for donkeys despite their value in supporting food production.”
Dr Kinoti was speaking during Kenya’s National Donkey Welfare Day celebrated on 17 May every year in five counties: Kisumu, Nyandarua, Kajiado, Nakuru, and Kitui.
This year’s theme ‘Recognizing the role of the donkey in economic development’ is aimed at cultivating the importance of donkey in the communities across the region.
According to Titus Sagala, Chairman; Alliance of Donkey Welfare Organizations in Kenya [ADWOK] .
This year therefore we celebrate this unique and heroic donkeys by taking time to reflect on the roles and contribution for it is in these reflections that we really see and appreciate the true value of the donkey and why we collectively should preserve and protect the donkey at all costs including from the threat of donkey skin trade.
The director also called for regional integration to curb donkey product smuggling which has greatly contributed to a decrease in donkey numbers associated with theft, slaughter, and trade of meat and donkey skin.
He explained that donkey breeding to raise the numbers to a level that can sustain trade levels to a commercially viable venture is impossible. Given the long gestation period for the animals.
“There is an emerging poaching for donkeys where the animal is stolen and slaughtered for meat, while some people who support the trade want to breed as a measure to increase their numbers, the breeding technology is not available, and twinning in donkeys is very rear, not to mention their gestation period that is between 12-14 months”
The celebration encourages donkey owners and users to value them as important animals which need to be taken care of considering the vital role they play in improving people’s lives.
At least twenty counties held celebrations focusing on distributing advice and information on donkey welfare, management, and husbandry to owners and users, providing veterinary treatment to donkeys in need, and sharing ideas about donkey welfare.
“The celebrations involve market clean up, treatment clinics, donkey wound management, and tree planting” explained Dr. Samantha opere, the Project Manager of KENDAT.
Meanwhile, donkey owners have been urged to house their donkeys and not let them roam around. this has been termed as a challenge, especially with operators within the city.
“Donkey owners in the city live in rented houses and they just let the donkeys roam. This is encouraging theft. Another challenge is interacting with road users. We encourage operators to wear reflectors and have the carts also marked with reflectors,” said Stephen Kaimuri, the Coordinating donkey owners Chairman, Nairobi county.