Donkey hide trade threatens livelihoods
Joseph lives in Bobung, near Nakuru, Kenya. He works as a water vendor, delivering water to homes and businesses, using his donkeys. He has a wife and six children. “My entire family’s needs and my needs depend on my donkey. From my donkey I am able to get a salary, I pay rent and even school fees.”
When Joseph’s four donkeys were stolen from him, he was devastated. “I used to love them so much…the only person I depend on is my donkey and I trust him as my boss. He has brought me this far.”
It is likely that Joseph’s donkeys were stolen and slaughtered for their hide. A sharp increase in recent years of trade in donkey meat and skins is driving demand for the widespread slaughter of these animals in Kenya. As prices are driven upwards, black-market activities are also increasing, supplied by illegal activities of rustling and illegal slaughter. Consequently, there has been a massive increase in donkey theft in many parts of Kenya, attributed to legal and illegal slaughter for skin. Four slaughter houses have been licensed in Kenya since April 2016, slaughtering approximately 400 donkeys a day and fuelling donkey theft, including one near Joseph’s town in Nakuru.
Not only was Joseph concerned about the welfare of his donkeys after they were stolen, but he found his livelihood to be in real jeopardy also. He has only ever delivered water, and had no other skills to find alternative employment. “This is the only job that I know.” Sadly, the theft of his donkeys was the beginning of a downward spiral for Joseph.
Ever since my donkeys were stolen, my business came down drastically… this led to one of my children having to stop school because they were stolen at the time when he was returning to school and he needed the school fees… The landlord locked me out so I had to plead with him…my kids couldn’t sleep outside. I had so many problems during that time.
With the price of a donkey rising so quickly, due to the demand for their hide, Joseph has been unable to get together enough money to buy one healthy donkey, let alone replace the four that were stolen from him. He acquired a sick donkey from his friend, and has had no other choice but to work this donkey.
“When they stole my donkeys I had to look for means to survive, I tried looking everywhere but I didn’t get anything but by luck or God’s grace I met a friend of mine who had a donkey that he had just disposed because he thought it would die. So I took the donkey in and tried to diagnose its problem, I even called a vet and they told me it needed to take a worms injection to see whether the problem is in the stomach. This is the donkey I’m using at the moment and if you see it, it looks weak, I have had it for a month now. It is not like the other donkeys, it cannot work like the other donkeys. So currently I am trying to make ends meet until I find another donkey, I can see it’s hurting but I do not have an alternative. The thieves robbed me and I didn’t have a plan B.”