The Agency for Cross-Border Pastoralists Development-APaD, a Kenyan-based organization has unveiled a partnership with journalists in Uganda’s Moroto district to accelerate action to tackle the illegal trade in donkey hides.
The donkey hides are used to make Ejiao or donkey hide glue, a gelatinous substance, made from boiling the hides of donkeys, which is used in traditional Chinese medicines and beauty products.
Despite lacking scientific proof, ejiao manufacturers claim various health benefits,including reducing wrinkles, curing anaemia, boosting energy, enhancing libido, and shrinking tumours leading to a surge in global demand.
This demand has led to a crisis in the donkey population, especially in China, where numbers have sharply declined. Moroto district has particularly become a primary source of donkey skins for China.
James Namuron, an Advocacy Officer at APaD, warns that the illegal trade has expanded from Turkana to Rupa and Katikekile sub-counties in Kenya to Moroto district, Uganda.
Namuron says that the high demand for ejiao has put the global donkey population in crisis, threatening millions of people who depend on them. Records show that with China’s donkey population dropping from 11 million in 1990 to 5.4 million in 2016, manufacturers started targeting donkeys from Africa to meet demand and Kenya remains the primary source of donkey skins to China.
Namuron said they have established that the illegal donkey skin trade is shifting to Moroto district in Uganda where it is not restricted. Stolen donkeys are skinned from the bushes and the hides are taken back to Lodwar in Kenya where it is bought and exported to China.
Namuron emphasizes the role of the media as a crucial partner in delivering messages to communities and advocating for donkey welfare.
Sam Kimeli, the Executive Director for APaD, appealed to the stakeholders from both Kenya and Uganda to uphold and enforce bans and other legal sanctions including for illegal cross-border trade, noting that some areas cannot be accessed using motorcycles leaving them with donkeys as the only option for transport.
Kimeli calls for community sensitization about the impact of the donkey trade on livelihoods and urges policymakers to strengthen laws on animal movement, ownership, and local-level sales to curb donkey theft.
According to the 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census, the donkey population was 1.8 million, with an estimated 1,000 donkeys slaughtered daily in export slaughterhouses and the bush. However, the accuracy of this information remains uncertain due to a lack of comprehensive empirical studies.