African Union Ban on Donkey Skins isn’t affront on China
Donkeys, also called “Equus asinus” have for centuries played an important role in the African context. They have supported the livelihoods of an estimated 500 million people in some of the worlds poorest countries.
Christened the beast of the burden, donkeys have provided labour to many African rural households where the animals have been used for land cultivation, pulling cargo, fetching water, and even transporting people. The donkey’s ability to withstand harsh climatic conditions has further endeared it to communities living in difficult terrains and arid spaces, where the animal is sometimes the only means of transport. In Africa, the donkey is also critical for many rural families. In particular, it can free women and girls from having to do heavy labour . To this day, it is believed that Africa has the world’s largest donkey population.
Donkeys, until this very day, often transport goods over long distances, carry household essentials, and help to cultivate land. However, in the last couple years, tens of thousands of donkeys heve been ripped from these communities annually. Some have been traded often illegally, or stollen as demand for their hide increases. Donkeys which face that fate are often hauled over long distances without food, water or shelter and held for days if not weeks without proper rest before suffering a cruel fate. Most of them are herded up, killed, skinned, and traded as a commodity to be sent to the other side of the world.
The African Union, in February 2024 announced a 15-year ban on slaughter of donkeys for their skins. This decision was arrived at following an upsurge in the slaughter of donkeys for their skin in many African countries; in the backdrop of relatively low levels of productivity of the animal which is mostly found in the continent. The next step was a creation of policies by the Regional Economic Communities (REC) and member states to guide the implementation of the African Union resolution. Africa is home to an estimated 65% of the donkeys in the world; making it the most ideal place to get donkeys and donkey products.
Mwenda Mbaka, a veterinarian and animal welfare expert based in Kenya said that, any African government that condones the continued slaughter of the donkeys is in contravention of the ban, and such countries can be censored through the structures established by the REC and continental frameworks.
African Union’s decision on banning the slaughter of the donkeys was widely praised by animal welfare groups and environmentalists accross the world as a milestone toward protecting Africa’s donkeys. Even before the African Union ban of donkeys’ slaughter and illegal trade, some African countries had already passed legislation to curb the trade. Countires like Burkina Faso and Uganda banned the export of donkey skin whilst Tanzania in 2022 implemented a 10 year ban on donkey skin trade.
However, despite the African Union’s effort to ban the slaughter of the donkeys, there is still a high risk that illegal trade of donkeys is still being taking place. In fact, despite many African countries bans and moves to regulate the donkey skin trade, donkey trafficking and illegal slughtering remains rife.
While the African Union ban has been welcomed by many communities in the continent as the right measure to protect, preserve and even enhance the welfare and sustainability of donkeys, the move has also elicited conversation about the global donkey value chain.
China is today the largest consumer market of donkey hides. In China, donkey skins are used to make traditional food and beauty products, E-jiao among others, which is made using collagen extracted from donkey hides, is the vital ingredient in food and beauty products believed by many Chinese consumers to enrich the blood, improve the immune system, and prevent some disease . Many e-jiao products are available online platforms such as Taobao, Jingdong, which sell items including Shandong walnut e-jiao cake and e-jiao black sesame balls.
Lauren Johnson, an expert on China-Africa relations published a study early this year called “China, Africa and the market for donkeys”. In the study, Lauren emphasided that the e-jiao was a luxury product that gained favor among elites during the Qing dynasty that ruled China from 1644 until late 1912. It’s popularity has surged in recent years due partly to its use in the Chinese television series called “Empress in the Palace”, which aired in 2011. According to Chinese state media, the e-jiao price since then has leapt 30 fold in the past decade, going from 100 Yuan per 500 grams to about 2,986 Yuan ($ 420).
A British charity devoted to the animals’ welfare published a report stating that the e-jiao industry requires at least 5.9 million donkeys annually, which has put unprecedented pressure on global populations. This report caught the eye of the concerned parties and put an alarm to stop the trade of donkeys. For instance, in Nigeria alone, tens of thousands of donkeys are slaughtered annually due to the demand for hides. In 2019, Nigeria’s government put a stop to it and banned exports of donkeys.
While Nigeria’s government banned export of donkeys back in 2019, slaughtering them was still alowed. Typically, donkeys in Nigeria are brought from neighboring countires like Niger across the northern border on a market day, sold off and driven away in trucks to southern Nigeria. Some donkeys are slaughtered and sold to China’s merchant in the region, whom exports the skins back to China.
It is said that China’s donkey population has fallen just under 2 million from 11 million in 1992, prompting its e-jiao industry to source donke skins elsewhere. As Africa still has the world’s largest donkey population, it has emerged as the key source of donkeys skins. The demand for donkey skins in China has certainly driven exports of the commodity mainly from Africa, into the Chinese market. This is a normal business case scenario where similar dynamics would reflect in trade with any other country, not just China. However, some commentators see the ban as a blow to China-Africa trade and economic cooperation.
China is today the largest trade partner of Africa; a position Beijing has held for the last 15 years since it displaced Washington from the top trading spot with the continent in 2009.
China-Africa trade, especially in the agriculture sector, has delivered tangible benefits to both sides with many rural African farmers benefiting from Chinese production technologies and market access. Under the auspices of the forum on China Africa Cooperation in Agriculture, the two sides have intensified exchanges, joint trainings on a wide variety of subjects including climate adaptation, food security and poverty reduction. Africa has imported over 300 technologies in the last decade which have directly benefited over 1 million smallholder farmers spread across the continent.
The China-Africa donkey trade existed for quite a while, but with the mass slaughter of the donkeys on the African continenet raised red flags and has become a controversial issue that may harm China’s bigger aspirations in the Global South. Certainly, the unregulated cross border trade in donkey and donkey products saw upsurge in theft, mass slaughter and skinning of donkeys in the continent, raising concerns from respective authorities of the African Union member states. However, there is no data or even suggestions to imply that China has promoted or been involved in the illegal activities in donkey trade in Africa.
In recent years, and especially after the ban of the donkey trade on the African continent, China has begun looking to countiies like Pakistan and Afghanistan to source donkey skin. Most of the donkey skins shipped from Pakistan to China are believed to be a part of an undercover trade. For instance, in 2022 in Karachi, a shipment was seized carrying almost 10 metric tons of donkey skins to Hong Kong. The shipment was declared as carrying salt and handkerchiefs.
China was portrayed to be a part of illegal trade or encouraging illegal trade of donkey skins on the African continent, which is not true. It is therefore troubling, to see commentaries that portrays China as hell-bent on wiping out Africa’s donkey population and completely ignoring the business dynamics of demand and supply of donkey skins globally. Africa simply happens to have what the Chinese market needs. The discourse should be more about how to sustain the trade and make it mutually beneficial to African famers within the obtaining global value chains, including in China.
Like Pakistan, African countries have an opportunity within the ban period to expand production of donkeys which can then be exported to China and other countries looking for the commodity within the regulated and sustainable channels. In just one year, Pakistan is reported to have grown its donkey population by 100,000 to hit 5.8 million in 2023. The upsurge happened on the backdrop of increased trade in donkey products between Pakistan and China.
Africa and China have multiple channels of trade and investments cooperation that can be tapped to spur productivity across the different value chains. With the right investments, and progressive regulatory framework Africa’s livestock sector can play a role in creating wealth for the countries while delivering mutual gains for the continent’s trade partners. This could be the silver lining in the trade in donkeys and donkey products between different African capitals and Beijing.
In Africa, donkeys are symbols of resilience. At the same time, donkeys have also come to represent low levels of development in the continent. It is the desire of the African rural communities to develop and experience modern ways of cultivation and transportation, key functions currently being performed by donkeys.
China-Africa development cooperation can deliver on the aspirations of these communities as envisaged under Africa Agenda 2063 and the Forum on China Africa Cooperation. Through the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing has for instance aided comprehensive modernization of Africa’s infrastructure spanning telecommunications, transportation, health, agriculture and green energy. This has made it possible for communities to increase yields, access markets and engage in the digital space.
Higher development levels will enable the farmers to better take care of the donkeys and even go into mass production of the animals as an avenue of wealth creation and industrialization.
Abundance of donkeys in Africa will ensure farmers, particularly in economically vulnerable settings have the opportunity to sustain their lives. The international markets also offer such farmers avenue to generate income from the livestock and change their economic conditions, including overcoming poverty.
The African Union ban on the slaughter of donkeys for skin should therefore not be politicised as an affront on China. This kind of narrative has potential to derail the momentum of economic and trade cooperation beyond the single commodity of donkey hides. African farmers, policy makers and traders should also be careful about voices that crowd out the real issues affecting the continent’s trade and economic partnership with Beijing.
Genuine concerns should be addressed in rational, mutually beneficial and sustainable manner; giving priority to the perspectives of Africans and relevant partners. China-Africa trade and economic has registered remarkable resilience over the years. It is in the interest of both sides to support sustainable trade practices, including within the livestock’s sector.
Editor | Qing He
Design | Demi
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