Organisation says secondary schools new market for illicit donkey meat

Carcasses of donkeys found slaughtered in Naivasha. [File, Standard] Secondary schools are now the new market for illicit donkey meat, Farming Systems Kenya (FSK) has said. FSK said illegal traders are working with a section of head teachers to supply them with cheap meat amid the financial crisis in the education sector. The organisation that works with donkey owners warned that the trend poses a threat to the animals, which are a source of livelihood for thousands of families in the country. FSK chief executive officer Kenneth Wamuga said their investigations had identified boarding schools as new markets for the donkey meat. "From our investigations, we have come to learn that some principals are sourcing donkey meat which is cheaper and readily available," he said. Speaking during a workshop in Naivasha, Wamuga warned that the illicit donkey could expose the students to zoonotic diseases. "This meat is not inspected and God forbid if the animal had anthrax, as this would lead to a major health crisis for the schools involved," he said. He said that the ban on donkey slaughterhouses, four years ago, was a major boost to the fight against the illegal trade. Wamuga noted that since the closure of the four slaughterhouses, the number of donkeys has been gradually rising after dropping sharply from 1.8 million to 1.1 million between 2016-2018. He said Embu, Kisumu and Murang'a counties were now leading in illegal cases of donkey slaughter. "We are working with different State agencies in addressing the illegal slaughters, which are now a threat to the country's donkey population," he said. Brooke East Africa Programmes manager Elijah Mithigi said that archaic and weak laws were hindering efforts to save the animals. Mithigi cited Embu as one of the counties where the number of animals was under threat due to illegal slaughter and mistreatment. "The animals in Mwea, Embu are badly treated and incidentally, the same area leads in cases of domestic violence targeting women and minors," he said. Mithigi said that the long gestation period for donkeys, coupled with the fact that they cannot be artificially inseminated, had contributed to the slow process of increasing their numbers. "Despite the challenges, we have made major milestones in protecting the animals and raising their numbers, which were under threat from the slaughterhouses," he said.

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