Donkeys have joined the list of animals that have become endangered no thanks to Chinese Traditional Medicine, and this has led to many countries in Africa adopting various means aimed at curbing the illegal and unbridled trading in Donkeys across the continent . Until recently, focus has been on animals such as tigers, rhinos and elephants all on the endangered species list due to their uses in different sorts of Chinese traditional medicines, but now, the industry’s demand for the humble donkey is drawing international scrutiny According to experts who have been tracking developments in this illegal trade, more than four-million donkey hides are boiled to make the 5,000 tonnes of ejiao, a gooey substance billed as ‘blood-enriching’ which is sold in China each year. With rising protectionism and calls for stringent measures to curb the Donkey poaching, Chinese farmers have resorted to breeding the animal locally to curb Africa imports.
A donkey
Donkey slaughter has surged across Africa as demand for ejiao has jumped tenfold to about 6,000 tons a year in China whose donkey population has plummeted to 4.5-million from 11-million in 1990 started sourcing for supplies elsewhere and Africa was the natural source. Once a luxury for the elite, ejiao — that comes as a tablet to dissolve in water or in anti-ageing cream — is now widely used by China’s wealthy middle class and diaspora. Prices have surged to more than $780/kg from about $30/kg in 2000, according to sources from the Chinese government.
China’s donkey population started dwindling as farmers who once relied on them as beast of burden either moved to more mechanized farming or left farming all together and migrated to the cities. This led to a drastic drop in their population while demand surged. To bridge that gap, Chinese companies dealing in donkey hides refocused on Africa where the donkey population is still on the rise in the last decade leading to what conservationists describe as unsustainable and indiscriminate trading on donkeys. This led to an outcry from many Africans putting pressures on governments to respond in curbing the donkey trading. This forced the company at the centre of the global trade in donkey skins to start work on ending reliance on imports within three years by boosting domestic breeding in China.
However, this development led to soaring prices for the hides creating an opening for criminals to start stealing donkeys in countries across East Africa, leading to governments in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Botswana to take measures aimed at stemming this tide. Reports say that of all the countries affected by this ugly development, Kenya is the most hit. Reports add that in the last three years, Kenya has become the epicentre of a fast-growing industry in Africa to supply donkey skins to China which are boiled to produce a gelatin called ejiao used in traditional medicine believed to stop ageing and boost libido. This led to the opening of four licensed donkey abattoirs since in the country where over a thousand donkeys are slaughtered and skinned daily. The Star Brilliant Donkey Export Abattoir first donkey abattoir to be opened in Kenya backed by Chinese investors opened in Naivasha opened in 2016, and within months its suppliers started buying hordes of donkeys across the area, leading to shortages and driving up prices. Then donkeys began to disappear as criminal gangs moved in.
However, this rising demand from China has led to a black market with gangs hired by skin-smuggling networks to steal donkeys, inciting anger in communities who depend on the animals for livelihoods, farming, or transport. More than 300,000 donkeys — 15% of Kenya’s donkey population — have been slaughtered for skin and meat export in less than three years, according to a June survey by the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation. And more than 4,000 donkeys were reported stolen more than the same period from April 2016 to December 2018 alone, government sources say.
According to local reports, most Kenyan families have been reporting of losing hundred of donkeys to thieves who steal and slaughter thousands of donkeys which are sold in the black markets by criminal networks supplying skins for Chinese buyers. To curb this, many communities have formed armed vigilantes who protect the donkeys and stave off the thieves. The report warned that donkeys were being slaughtered at a rate five times higher than their population was growing which could wipe out Kenya’s donkey population by as early as 2023.
This development has led activists to call on government to ban the trade in donkey skins and close down slaughterhouses, in line with similar action in more than a dozen other African nations, from Nigeria and Senegal to Burkina Faso and Mali. If nothing is done urgently, Africa’s donkey population might get to the level of extinction.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.