Ban on donkey slaughterhouses in Kenya, imposed three years ago, is showing positive results, with the donkey population now on the rebound.

The ban imposed by the government to contain the theft of donkeys and reverse the rapid decline has been lauded by stakeholders as a key step in ensuring their welfare and rights are guaranteed.

The government had in the past decade licenced major slaughterhouses for donkey meat including Good Limited in Mogotio in Baringo County, Silzha Company in Naivasha, Star Brilliant in Machakos and Fuhai Trading Company in Kajiado County.

The four abattoirs played a significant role in the donkey trade, supplying donkey meat and skins for export to Asian countries but have since been closed down following the government ban.

Despite the high demand for donkey products in the Chinese market, the government has strongly ruled out lifting the ban, citing the trade as a threat to the country’s economy and animal welfare.

During an evaluation meeting in Naivasha, top security officials from Nakuru, Kiambu, Bomet, Kajiado, and Narok counties which are mostly affected by donkey theft, reaffirmed their commitment to enforcing the ban in totality.

Dr Lloyd Ford Kibaara, the County Commissioner of Nakuru, who represented the Regional Commissioner of Rift Valley, noted that the Rapid Results Initiative (RRI) launched in April last year had significantly curbed the illegal donkey trade.

He said that the initiative, overseen by the Cabinet Secretaries for Interior, Livestock and Health, had successfully disrupted the illicit slaughter of donkeys leading to positive cases of recoveries.

“The multi-agency response team has achieved major steps with over 456 donkeys that were set to be slaughtered being rescued and more than 150 have been returned to their owners,” said Kibaara.

He added that several individuals involved in the illegal trade have been arrested and are currently facing court charges, noting that multi-agency teams would continue strengthening enforcement measures, including public awareness campaigns to further reduce donkey theft and slaughter.

“We closed all local slaughter outlets meant for donkey slaughter, and we have no intention of reopening them and any attempts to revive this trade will undermine prior government interventions aimed at protecting these animals,” he added.

Kibaara urged county governments to conduct regular meat inspections to prevent the illegal sale of donkey meat in butcheries noting that donkeys play a crucial economic impact to grassroots communities.

D Jane Njuguna, Deputy Director of Veterinary Services at the State Department for Livestock, lauded the efforts to curb donkey slaughter but called for legal reforms to strengthen penalties against offenders.

“Our laws need urgent review to close existing legal gaps and will ensure fines and penalties for illegal donkey slaughter reflect the severity of the crime committed,” she said.

She urged parliament to expedite the enactment of key bills, including the Animal Health Bill, Animal Welfare and Protection Bill, and the Veterinary Public Health Bill to address existing loopholes.

Dr Njuguna affirmed the importance of hygiene in meat processing, pointing out that illegal donkey slaughter is in direct violation of the Meat Control Act, CAP 356, which mandates that all animals for human consumption be slaughtered in licensed slaughterhouses.

Although the courts briefly lifted the government’s 2021 ban on donkey slaughter, Dr Njuguna confirmed that donkey abattoirs have not met key conditions such as establishing their donkey production units.

“Bush donkey slaughtering is not hygienic since it is against the Meat Control Act, CAP 356, whereby all animals for human consumption should be slaughtered in a designated slaughterhouse, which is licensed by the county governments”, said Dr Njuguna.

On his part, Dr Raphael Kinoti, the Regional Director of Brook East Africa, an animal welfare organization said the engagements with the top five counties come after increased cases of donkey slaughtering.

“Narok County, Bomet, Nakuru, Kajiado and Kiambu Counties are our key focus since they are the biggest epicentres for donkey slaughter and need to relook at the existing gaps that fuel the incidents”, said Kinoti.

The Director said in collaboration with security dockets, they have heightened surveillance along the border with Uganda and Tanzania to curb the transborder movement of trafficked donkeys into Kajiado, Narok counties to Nairobi meat joints.

Kenneth Wamuga, the Executive Director, of Farming Systems Kenya said donkey meat business is also fuelled by illegal donkey skin trade, which is in high demand in China for making beauty products.

Wamuga added that last year, the African Union issued a moratorium banning the donkey meat trade and its export within the continent to reverse the decline of the animals.

• A Tell / KNA report / By Erastus Gichohi and Immaculate Kariuki (intern)