The government has been urged to consider banning the export of donkey skins to contain the illegal slaughter of the animals in the country.
The skins sell like hotcakes in China with exporters making a fortune in the lucrative business which gained traction after the Kenya government ordered the closure of donkey abattoirs across the country.
Animal rights activists on Wednesday raised concerns over the declining population of donkeys in the country which they attributed to the trade.
According to Brookes East Africa lobby group which caters for the welfare of working animals, a survey conducted by the government indicated that over 700,000 donkeys have been lost within 10 years.
Brookes EA Regional Manager Raphael Kinoti says that a 2009 survey conducted by the state showed that the population stood at 1.8 million donkeys but the one which was conducted 10 years later in 2019, their population stood at 1.2 million.
Kinoti says the animals are stolen, slaughtered by unscrupulous butchers and their meat sold to unsuspecting customers.
“Donkeys are used at home for work, but cartels stealing them is growing by the day before slaughtering and selling their meat to unsuspecting customers while their skin is sold abroad and especially in China,” he said.
He cautioned meat lovers against consuming uninspected meat noting that donkey meat could be infected with deadly anthrax and rabies viruses.
Kinoti added that Nairobi city residents are heavily affected by the consumption since the donkey meat finds its way there from different areas.
He said the dealers slaughter the animals in unhygienic places to avoid being noticed.
“These people are not traders, they are cartels. They do not care about the impact of their actions,” he added.
He revealed that the traders who sell donkey skins are also the ones killing other wild animals such as rhinos and elephants and stealing their tasks since they are also sold in China.
He spoke at Rwamburi Animal Stock Theft Police Unit which is located at Rwamburi village in Ndeiya sub-county on Wednesday to mark National Donkey Day.
Flanked by Brookes EA officials, Kendat officials, Ndeiya ACC Peter Mose, police and chiefs and assistant chiefs.
The team revealed that a total of 44 donkeys were rescued by police before being slaughtered.
ACC Mose noted that they have been fighting the unscrupulous butchers in the area adding that the unscrupulous butchers steal the animals and bring them to the area where they slaughter them before transporting the meat to different places.
He said that the butchers keep changing slaughtering sites to escape arrested since they know the police are tracking them.
He claimed that the Judiciary was a stumbling block in the fight against the trade in the country.
“The fines and bonds issued to all suspects we arrest are affordable, making the illegal business continue,” he said.
Mose urged Parliament to enact laws that will teach a lesson to the donkey thrives and unscrupulous butchers and assist the country to protect the animals.
