Government, stakeholders address cruelty to donkeys
Chakalisa Dube | Friday September 1, 2017 14:25
They are also raised for milk and meat production. Their hides are used for medicinal purposes among others. However, after embarking on countrywide tour government authorities believe that some Batswana do not appreciate the contribution of donkeys in their livelihoods and continue to subject them to severe abuse.
The Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security deputy permanent secretary (technical services) Dr John Moreki when officiating at a ‘Donkey Awareness’ workshop made the averment yesterday.
He said this as he made amplified calls for tougher sanctions to be imposed against those who subject donkeys and other animals to cruelty.
He urged both government and independent organisations to relentlessly advocate for the introduction of tougher sanctions against those who abuse animals. In addition to all the animals in the planet welfare of a donkey is the most compromised according to Moreki. He said that Botswana should emulate other countries and enact strong sanctions against those who mistreat the donkeys to swiftly curb the trend. “There is need for government to introduce stiffer penalties against those who continue to mistreat animals particularly donkeys. People continue to mistreat donkeys because punitive measures imposed on them (those who mistreat donkeys) are light. They usually walk away with a fine which is not enough,” he said.
He noted that in other countries those who abuse animals are even banned from keeping them for the rest of their lives.
“At times donkeys are forced to carry very heavy objects than they can manage under normal circumstances. They are also being overworked. Donkeys can resist illnesses if they are not overworked,” he said.
Moreki also said that the animals are brutally beaten and when they are sick they are not given medical assistance, as it is usually the case with other domestic animals. “Since 2014 we have been losing an average of 18, 000 donkeys annually. Some of the donkeys die because of the poor treatment and management subjected to them by owners,” he said.
Donkeys are stoical by nature and this can be mistaken for stubbornness, which is among the reasons they are often beaten, Moreki said.
He said that in 2014 the donkey population stood at 371,000. Currently the donkey population is estimated at around 227,000 according to Moreki.
Chinese traders who buy donkeys satisfy growing demand mostly of donkey hides in their country also subject donkeys to greater cruelty.
The hides are used for medicinal purposes. Recently a Chinese man in Francistown was slapped with a P30,000 fine for subjecting 500 donkeys to cruelty.
Government killed the 500 donkeys ‘destined’ to serve the Chinese market because they were found in a ‘very poor state of health’.
In China, there is also a strong demand for donkey hooves, which are said to contain gelatin. The meat is also in high demand in China because it is said to be nutritious. The demand for hides and other donkey by-products is also threatening the population of the animal around the world particularly Africa.
Botswana and other African countries have placed a temporal ban on the killing of donkeys to protect its population.