Eleanor Jones, writing for the Horse & Hound, reports:
A ban on slaughtering donkeys in Kenya has been greeted as “tremendous news” by campaigners.
The ban was announced on 24 February by agriculture secretary Peter Munya, who had been presented with a petition by Kenyan donkey owners.
Kenya had become a hub for the skin trade as ejiao manufacturers turned to Africa to source donkeys.
Brooke Action for Working Horses and Donkeys had been calling for the ban, warning that rising demand for traditional Chinese medicine ejiao, which is made from donkey skins, could mean the extinction of donkeys in Kenya within a few years if no action were taken.
This led, Mr Munya said, to “stealing and wanton and unmitigated slaughter of donkeys, which has led to drastic reduction in the donkey population”.
“We have won the battle but the war on this extremely harmful trade is not over. We look forward to working with the government to enforce the laws, and continue to protect vulnerable people and their animals.”
All four donkey slaughterhouses in Kenya — at which it is thought up to 1,000 donkeys were being killed every day — will be closed within a month.
Read more at the Horse & Hound online »
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