A lot of research will go into the best ways to increase the donkey population and also look into how the donkeys are treated.
Dwindling donkey population will hurt women and children, who most benefit from the beasts of burden.
Speaking on Wednesday at a Farmers TV Special on why we must preserve the donkey numbers, Livestock and Fisheries CAS Dr Jebii Kilimo said donkeys in rural areas do not only carry farm produce to the market. They also help in ferrying water to homesteads where the women and children have to cover several kilometres in search of water.
"Donkeys do the work that the women and children do, from getting water, firewood and other household chores.
"We are removing the donkey back from the market and throwing the burden to the women," she said.
The government is working with scientists and other experts involved in the breeding of animals. But the CAS admitted that it is difficult for donkeys to reproduce.
Dr Raphael Kinoti, also a panelist, admitted that the numbers show a threatening trend for the community.
Kinoti is a veterinary surgeon and also the Farming Systems Kenya CEO. He is also chairman of the Alliance of Donkey Welfare Organisations in Kenya.
Dr Kilimo went on, "We have the AI for cows and we are working to hopefully, by January, have AI for goats. But it is rather a challenge to breed donkeys because they are always working."
When the government banned the slaughter of donkeys, there were complaints, but other parties, such as authorities from animal welfare as well as donkey owners, further criticised the way in which the animals were killed in the abattoirs - through electrocution or gunshots.
A lot of research will go into the best ways to increase the donkey population and also look into how the donkeys are treated, the CAS added.
"I wish people would treat their donkeys the way they treat their puppies."
The CAS called on the media to spread awareness on donkey treatment and the animals' social life.
Her sentiments were echoed by Caritas director Florence Ndeti, who manages the Caritas' social development projects in Kitui and Makueni.
She said her organisation is working with farmers to train them on how to treat the donkeys when loading and feeding them.
But with the statistics on donkey slaughterhouses and demand for donkey skin, coupled with the hard breeding, it is almost impossible to increase the numbers to a level where Kenya can sustain its donkey population and the slaughter business.
According to Ndeti, some of the farmers who have had donkeys for 15 years only recorded a reproduction rate of up to six donkeys only.
"There is a need for a legal framework where the donkey can be protected," she said.
Ndeti cited a case in Kitui where Caritas has been working with stakeholders to draft policies on donkey welfare. "The donkey, without protection, and with the state of affairs continuing, may be extinct in the near future."
Ndeti criticised previous discussions on whether the donkey can be replaced by a motorbike, to which she said many rural families that depend on the donkeys cannot afford the fuel required for a boda boda or the expertise to ride one.
The motorbike also requires maintenance, which many rural families will not afford.
"The easy way the women and children can manage the donkey is not the same easy way they can manage the motorbike."
