TRANS NZOIA, Kenya – Experts now caution that the population of donkeys may be endangered due to the unethical Chinese donkey killing, which may prevent future generations from seeing them.
In a media interview during the National Donkey Celebration Day, Alfred Juma, Programs and Partner Manager at Ripple Effect Kenya, stated that the day is celebrated to honour the donkey’s significance to human livelihood as well as to restore and maintain genetics and history. He claimed that Chinese people kill donkeys for export by using their skins.
“Essentially, what we do as Ripple Effect Kenya is that we support the work of the government in different agricultural sectors by creating sustainable development at the community level,” Juma stated.
He further highlighted that the organisation has different interventions that align with the mission, which is to inspire and equip communities and families to transform lives and protect the planet.
“When we talk of protection of the planet, the restoration of the ecosystems, planting of trees, and even conservation of genetics where the donkeys are facing extinction risks courtesy of the unscrupulous business of the Chinese, they have dilapidated their donkey population in China, and they have turned to vulnerable Africa, where they are slaughtering donkeys in drones, and the population has gone down from 1.9 million to a worrying under 500,000,” Juma stated.
What Ripple Effect Kenya is doing to protect donkeys
He argues that means our children and grandchildren may never live to see donkeys.
“Therefore, we need to take affirmative action to do this, but most importantly, ours is to influence the community and work with the government to have sustainable mechanisms of ensuring that donkeys are taken good care of,” he said.
He added that what the organisation does is propose value for the donkey keepers and owners.
“Please do not lease out your donkeys; use them to bring in income. let the donkeys contribute to food security, nutrition, income, and access to water,” he said, noting that if a donkey is utilised well, it can earn an income of Sh500 per day.
Why donkeys are essential to humankind
“When you lose your donkey, you become the donkey, which implies that our girls would drop out of school to fetch water and harvest firewood,” he continued. “A donkey hauls manure, fetches water, and supports women and girls to do other chores that would instead keep them out of school.”
Juma adds, however, that by retaining these donkeys and ensuring that our population is manageable, the workload is lessened, and the duties that would otherwise be filled by women and girls are filled.
Juma’s remarks were mirrored by Philip Sigei, the deputy county commissioner (DCC) of Cheptais, who disclosed that donkeys are being illegally transported to adjacent Uganda across the porous Lwakhakha border.
Sigei pointed out that Kenyan security is holding regular security talks with Ugandan counterparts to discuss the threat and help curb the illegal donkey trade along the border.
“The population has increased as a result of the cessation of donkey slaughters,” Sigei continued.
