Brooke USA SHARES AWFUL NEWS:

A step back in the fight to ban donkey slaughterhouses in Kenya

 

Brooke USA is saddened to announce that the Kenyan Courts are allowing donkey slaughterhouses to resume operations. In February of last year, the Kenyan Government approved a ban on the killing of donkeys for their hides, but after slaughterhouses demanded a review, and following a year-long battle in the courts, the ban was lifted on May 5, 2021.

 

Prior to the ban, thousands of donkeys were being slaughtered every year for their hides at four licensed slaughterhouses in Kenya. The hides were then exported to make ejiao, a bi-product of boiling the hides, resulting in a gelatin-like substance used in traditional Chinese medicine with allegations of increasing potency, fertility, and circulation, among others.

 

The court decision follows months of pleas and protests from donkey owning communities who have had their donkeys stolen, or been coerced to sell, to fuel the trade. Their livelihoods have suffered as a result.

 

In May 2020, one of the slaughterhouses sued the Kenyan Government, through the Attorney General and Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture Peter Munya, seeking to overturn the ruling. The owners claimed it violated worker rights and that the government should have consulted and considered the views of slaughterhouses before putting the ban in place. The Attorney General and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock & Fisheries, again, came forward to defend their decision.

 

The Association of Donkey Owners in Kenya (ADOK), which was created with the support of Brooke East Africa and boasting a membership of 65,000, filed an Interested Party Application in the case, highlighting the negative impact that donkey slaughter on their livelihoods.

 

“This is a massive blow for donkeys, animal welfare, and especially for the hardworking people who rely on their donkeys to earn a living and provide for their families. This trade has had a horrific impact on them, with donkeys being stolen and sold to these slaughterhouses”, stated Dr. Raphael Kinoti, Regional Director at Brooke East Africa. He added, “the ban on donkey slaughter, announced in February, was a direct response to the pleas of donkey owning communities, and we’re disappointed that the court has found in favor of slaughterhouses.”

 

Donkeys slaughtered for their hides is an unnecessary and unsustainable trade that has bad outcomes for donkeys and the people they serve. Brooke USA will continue to support the work of Brooke East Africa on behalf of donkey owners. “It is paramount that donkeys across Kenya are protected and safe from the inhumane hide trade,” stated Emily Dulin, CEO of Brooke USA.

 

Donkey owning communities have already started protesting across the country and will now regroup to agree on actions following this ruling. Brooke USA’s sister organization, Brooke: Action for Working Horses and Donkeys will continue to campaign, even harder now, with local donkey owner groups, for the ban.

 

Brooke USA is in the process of launching an advocacy initiative to ban the import and sale of ejiao in the United States, the third largest consumer of the product in the world. To join Brooke USA’s Advocacy Committee and help reach Members of the US Senate and House of Representatives, efforts to ban the import and sale of ejiao, please send an email to Emily Dulin, CEO of Brooke USA at Emily.Dulin@BrookeUSA.org.

Photos courtesy of Brooke and The Donkey Sanctuary.

This is a challenging time for Brooke USA as we deal with the devastating COVID-19 crisis in India, our largest area of funded operations, and the news that the donkey skin ban in Kenya has been overturned, leaving many communities frightened for the wellbeing of their donkeys.

 

Please be assured that we are supporting our teams in both countries as much as possible and doing all we can to ensure working horses, donkeys and mules still receive the support they so desperately need at this time.

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