Kenya: Ban the Killing and Export of Donkeys to China

After an investigation by PETA Asia at slaughterhouses in Mogotio and Naivasha revealed that donkeys were being beaten by staff, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment Peter Munya has now ordered the closure of all donkey slaughterhouses in Kenya by next month. PETA Asia's footage was recorded at government-approved facilities. The donkeys are killed there to be processed into a traditional Chinese medicine known as ejiao.

More than 200,000 supporters of PETA Germany and its international partner organisations had contacted Munya in Kenya, demanding an end to the trade in donkey hides. The animals are crammed onto trucks in this industry and transported under the most adverse conditions to sometimes distant locations, including neighbouring countries. A journey from the Ethiopian border, for example, can take two days. Throughout this time, the animals receive neither water nor food. Many collapse or even die. PETA Asia's investigation revealed that workers left two donkeys that had died during the long transport lying outside the slaughterhouse. Another donkey was so severely injured that it could no longer stand — they dragged it off the transporter, threw it to the ground, and kicked it.

„PETA begrüsst die Entscheidung von Kabinettssekretär Peter Munya, Kenias Esel zu retten. Mit der Schliessung dieser Schlachthöfe hat sein Land die Verbindungen zu einer grausamen Industrie gekappt, in der Millionen sanftmütige Esel auf schreckliche Weise getötet werden“, so Jason Baker, Senior Vice President of International Campaigns bei PETA Asien. „Niemand braucht Eselhaut – ausser den Tieren, die darin geboren wurden. PETA hofft nun, dass nun noch mehr Länder Stellung gegen Ejiao beziehen und dem Beispiel Kenias folgen.“

Pakistan und zahlreiche afrikanische Länder – darunter Botswana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Tansania und Uganda – haben von China finanzierte Schlachthöfe bereits verboten oder Vorgaben gegen den Export von Eselhäuten nach China eingeführt. Zudem erklärten sich diverse Unternehmen, z.B. eBay, bereit, keine Produkte mit Ejiao mehr zu verkaufen.