OPINION: Why EALA’s donkey protection motion matters for East Africa

By Dr. Raphael Kinoti

We welcome the East African Legislative Assembly’s Motion urging the EAC Council of Ministers and Partner States to develop a regional policy and legal framework for the protection of donkeys and the regulation of the donkey skin trade, and we commend Uganda’s EALA MP Veronica Babirye Kadogo for her bold leadership in moving the Motion.

For over a decade, the East African Community has been rapidly and quietly losing one of its most vital assets: the donkey. An animal that for centuries has been a lifeline for millions of households, powering transport, water access, agriculture, and trade. Yet the high and unsustainable demand for their skins, used in the Chinese traditional medicine ‘Ejiao,’ has pushed these animals to the brink of extinction.

The rising cases of illegal donkey bush slaughter continue to devastate communities, accompanied by increased donkey theft, leaving donkey-dependent communities struggling to carry water, farm their land, and sustain local trade. The crisis is not only economic. Unregulated slaughter exposes communities to deadly zoonotic diseases, placing human health at serious risk.

It is in this context that we welcome the East African Legislative Assembly’s Motion. This policy statement is a recognition that donkeys are critical socio-economic assets sustaining millions of families across East Africa. The Resolution builds on prior commitments, including the 2024 high-level executive directives by the AU Heads of State, the 2025 Abidjan Declaration on Donkeys, and outcomes from the IGAD and Pan-African Donkey Conferences.

Taking a case study of Kenya, the origin of this dilemma can be traced back to the donkey hide trade. In 2016, Kenya authorized the operation of the first donkey slaughterhouse, which later increased to four, primarily to meet the demand for donkey hides used in making the Chinese traditional medicine called ‘Ejiao.’ This valuable medicine is processed into bars, pills, or liquids for various consumable goods and beauty products.

The consequences of this decision have been staggering. In just three years (2016 to 2019), the four donkey abattoirs in Nakuru, Baringo, Turkana, and Machakos slaughtered 301,977 of Kenya’s donkey population.

This accounted for 15.4 percent of the country’s donkey population, according to the 2019 Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) report titled ‘The Status of Donkey Slaughter for Skin Trade and Its Implications on the Kenyan Economy.’

With the rise of cases of illegal donkey bush slaughter, Kenya has further lost most of her donkey species. Donkeys are seasonal breeders, and artificial insemination for donkeys is still not viable, making the trade in donkey skins unsustainable. According to KALRO, if Kenya had continued to keep the four slaughter abattoirs operational, we could have slaughtered the last of our donkey species in 2024.

With the EALA Motion now standing as the official position of the East African Legislative Assembly, and set to be formally transmitted to the Council of Ministers and the EAC Secretariat for consideration and action in accordance with the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, Partner States should act urgently to develop a harmonized framework that safeguards livelihoods, halts illegal trade, protects public health, and ensures the sustainable management of donkey populations.

I am very happy and proud that Africa has now come of age, and that we are able to clearly defend our local resources for our people’s livelihoods. I truly congratulate the East African Legislative Assembly, and particularly the mover of this Motion, Hon. Veronica Babirye Kadogo.

Brooke East Africa, an equine welfare charity, is committed and ready to support the implementation of this historic decision in the push for bettering the welfare of working equines and the communities that depend on them.

[The writer is an animal welfare advocate and the Regional Director of Brooke East Africa, an animal welfare charity organisation working to alleviate the suffering of working equines.]