Donkey slaughter has been banned in Kenya.
This is according to a statement from the Minister of Agriculture, Peter Munya.
This development follows years of demands by donkey owners and farmers in the country that the practice, which had taken root across the Rift Valley (especially in Nakuru, Baringo and neighbouring counties) and in Centra Kenya, be stopped.
Africa Uncensored has been at the forefront in reporting on the subject over the last few years.
An article detailing the plight of donkeys in Kenya as the next endangered animal published by Africa Uncensored identified operators of various donkey slaughterhouses in Nakuru county.
At the time, donkey theft was on the rise in Naivasha town, which is home to Star Brilliant Donkey abattoir, one of three abattoirs in Kenya built specifically for the slaughter of donkeys. The theft was attributed to a spike in demand of ejiao in China, whose donkey population has significantly reduced prompting them to seek donkey skins from other countries like Kenya.
Ejiao is a Chinese traditional medicine used to treat blood deficiency.
A follow-up documentary on the matter, titled Punda Bibi Mwenzangu by Africa Uncensored‘s Kabugi Mbae expanded the spotlight on donkey theft to Kajiado and Kiambu counties besides further highlighting the devastating effects the donkey trade, which nets millions of shillings to individual traders and owners of abattoirs in the said counties every month, has had on local communities that have for long relied on the donkey as their beast of burden.
Kenya had, 8 years earlier, approved the sale of donkey meat and hides.
Last year, a report by donkey advocacy group Brooke East Africa supported by the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) showed that the country’s donkey population could be wiped out over the next 3 years.
By banning donkey abattoirs, Kenya now joins countries such as Pakistan, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda, which have banned Chinese-funded abattoirs or implemented policies to stop the export of donkey skins to China.
Companies such as eBay among others have also agreed to stop selling items containing ejiao to help support such moves.
Additional information provided by Peris Gachahi
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