Zimbabwe donkeys are at risk

Rural communities across the world, including those in Zimbabwe, are at risk of being impoverished by "relentless" Chinese demand for donkey products such as meat and skins, which are stewed to produce gelatin, a key ingredient in the making of a prized Chinese traditional medicine called ejiao, a leading global donkey rights campaign group has warned.

Ejiao, also known as 'Colla corii asini' or "donkey hide glue" is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) made from gelatin that is extracted from donkey hides and mixed with herbs to form gelatinous bars and pills or tonics that are used to treat insomnia, dizziness, nose-bleeding and dry coughs.

In China, ejiao is also believed to have anti-ageing properties in addition to increasing libido, while reducing chances for the development of reproductive-organ-related diseases in women.

In a new report entitled, Under The Skin, the London-based Donkey Sanctuary said donkey populations in sub-Saharan Africa — including Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Niger, Egypt and Burkina Faso — were being decimated at a shocking scale to meet increased Chinese demand for donkey meat and hides.

"The global trading of donkey skins is now having an impact on donkey welfare and the livelihood of people around the world. The current demand for skins is relentless, and as the key ingredient in the prized traditional Chinese medicine called ejiao, their prices have rocketed.

"Communities the world over risk being impoverished and losing their independence. Our report reveals the shocking scale of this global trade as it races to keep up with an ever-growing demand for the product. Donkey populations cannot continue to be decimated and communities must not be deprived of their only means of survival.

"Action must now be taken to curb this trade, in the interest of both animal and human welfare," said Mike Baker, the CEO at Donkey Sanctuary.

According to the report, the period between 2013 and 2016 had witnessed a global increase in demand for donkeys due to renewed interest in the premium products derived from the increasingly industrialised processing of donkey meat and skins from Africa.

It noted that while some communities in Africa eat the donkey and consume its milk, such slaughter was traditionally limited to old beasts and occured on a much lesser scale when compared to the emergent trade.

"Most notable within the last two years has been the emergence of large-scale global trading in donkey skins, with estimates of a minimum of 1,8 million donkey skins being traded per year. In turn, global demand has been conservatively estimated to be up to four million, with some sources reporting upper limits of demand in China to be around 10 million skins per annum," the report said.

Although focused on the global trade in donkey parts, the research found Africa's huge donkey population to be a key target for the Chinese skin trade, largely as a result of the rise in trade and political co-operation between most African governments and Beijing.

"Virtually all African countries with significant donkey populations are reporting an increase in donkey slaughter for this market. There appear to be two slaughter processes: slaughter in legal, government-led or government-sanctioned slaughterhouses or small-scale "bush" slaughter, which frequently involves stolen donkeys. While donkey skins appear to be the primary product targeted during slaughter, it is also reported that donkey meat may be a lucrative product in its own right," said the report.

Further, the report noted that attempts to study the trade within Africa were complicated by the religious sensitivities surrounding the consumption of donkey meat, which is considered "haram" (forbidden) by Muslims.

In Egypt, the report documented the recent discovery of 250 skinned donkey carcasses amid indications that the price of donkeys increased significantly due to demand from China.

The rise in Egyptian donkey prices was also attributed to a recent government decision to allow donkey "leather" exports to China.

In Tanzania, the organisation documented the recent theft and slaughter of 24 donkeys over-night from a single village. The donkeys were later found dead with only their skins missing.

The donkey trade has also taken root in South Africa where animals welfare organisations have reported the arrest and prosecution of several individuals for violating the Animal Protection Act.

The transportation and pre-slaughter holding conditions of the donkeys also violated animal welfare laws.

The National Council of Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals states that "donkeys are being rounded up or stolen, then transported and brutally slaughtered for their skins. A recent case focused on 70 sick, emaciated animals that were penned up and left to starve in Bloemfontein, where the owner stated that he was only interested in the skins to export to China," the report said.

The Donkey Sanctuary also singled out the existence of government-approved slaughter-houses and trade in donkey products in Namibia, Botswana, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia.

In Burkina Faso, the price of one donkey went up from £60 in 2014 to £108 in 2016 due to demand from the skin trade with China. Demand has gone up in Niger, where 80 000 donkeys were slaughtered for skin exports between January and September 2016, up from the 27 000 killed in 2015.

The trade in donkey products appeared to have taken root in countries such as Zimbabwe, Zambian and Nigeria.

Trade in donkey products appears to be widespread, with reports of slaughter for skins and meat in Botswana, Namibia and Nigeria and suspicions of trade in Zimbabwe and Zambia.

"The trade in meat and skins appears to be widespread within Nigeria, where donkey meat commands a high price of up to £70 ($87) per carcass while skins command prices of over £100 ($125)each," the report said.

In conclusion, the Donkey Sanctuary said the global trade in donkey skins for the production of ejiao should be stopped until the impact of the trade can be assessed and shown to be both humane for donkeys and sustainable for the poor communities that depend on them.

The world stands to lose between four million and 10 million donkeys annually to the ejiao business, with severe impacts on the global donkey population of at least 44 million.

The organisation called on affected African countries to emulate Niger and Burkina Faso, which have both banned the slaughter and trade in donkey products. Government could no longer afford to ignore the trade, in both legal and illegal forms because it raised numerous welfare issues about the donkeys, from sourcing to transportation and final slaughter.