The butchery of the African donkey is now a common trend to fulfill the demand of the Chinese medicine. The northwestern region of South Africa depicts this problem clearly.
The skin of a donkey is valuable as it contains gelatin and this fact increases the tendency to slaughter the animal brutally. Several African countries are engaged in this brutal act. A good amount of money can be earned through this job and so a number of gangs don't hesitate to perform this illegal work.
Channel News Asia reported that syndicates catch donkeys from Mogosani, a village in the North West province of South Africa, to acquire gelatin from the skin. Residents of this village reveal that thieves are searching for the skin of the docile beast and it fuels the panic of the common people. Many poor villagers use the animal to draw a cart to bring firewood.
Gelatin has a high demand in the Chinese market. The medicine manufacturers in China use gelatin to make some essential medicines that treat anemia and several important health problems. Apart from the skin, meat of a donkey is also very nutritious and far better than the beef.
The lucrative offer of earning millions of dollars has fuelled the sinful act of butchery. The slaughter of this docile beast increases sharply in Africa as China is trying to fulfill the huge demand for medicine. The SA people news also reported this tragic fact. The rapidly decreasing number of the donkeys in China is another reason why the country wants the African one.
Ikgopeleng Tsietsoane, a donkey owner of the Mogosani village says that the donkey is the key source of incomes here. He reveals that last October thieves stole his six animals. It is the need of the hour to stop the illegal slaughtering of the beast to save the villagers' livelihood.
Ikgopeleng Tsietsoane reveals that the normal price of a donkey should be 400 rand or $30, 29 euros, but currently, the price is 2,000 rand. Recently the Johannesburg police busted a storage container that kept more than 5,000 donkeys illegally. After a big hullabaloo, the Chinese embassy in South Africa has stated that no Chinese company is importing the skin of the beast legally.
South Africa's neighbor Botswana exports donkey meat to China. The state performs the job legally. On the other hand, last year another African state Burkina Faso announced a ban on the slaughtering of the docile beast. It is necessary to remember that medicine can save a life, so it can't be a cause of one's death.
