Donkey population drops to 35-year low

Friday, February 15, 2019

Donkey numbers are at a record low, In 2008, then Chinese envoy, Ding Xiaowen told Mmegi donkeys were a way for Batswana to 'get rich'

The numbers of donkeys around the country dropped to 140,000 in 2017, a three-decade low and the first official estimate of the impact of rampant unregulated slaughter and trade. Staff Writer, MBONGENI MGUNI reports.

Overlooked, often abused and under-appreciated, the lowly donkey faces an existential struggle following years of brutal slaughter fuelled by a blossoming market in China.

From being viewed simply as draught power with no direct financial value, ballooning demand for donkey skin, hooves and meat particularly in China, has seen the emergence of an entire illicit ecosystem locally, with growers, rich middlemen and border-crossing traders.

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