Author Topic: Donkey crisis  (Read 3030 times)

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Offline Maik

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Donkey crisis
« on: Saturday, 07 October, 2017 @ 20:28:59 »
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Why are donkeys facing their 'biggest ever crisis'?

The world's donkeys are facing a population crisis because of the huge demand for their skins in China, where they are used to make health foods and traditional medicine.

Donkey meat is also a popular food, but a huge drop in the number of Chinese donkeys and the fact they are slow to reproduce, has forced suppliers to look elsewhere.

The surge in price and demand in Kenya has been encouraged by three donkey abattoirs, which have opened across the country.

They can each slaughter around 150 animals a day, packing and freezing the meat and salting the skins for export.

Chinese buyers monitor the process - making sure everything is properly packed and prepared.

When the skins are boiled, they produce a brown gelatine, which is the essential ingredient in Chinese "ejiao" products - popular health foods and traditional medicines.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-41524710