Residents of Kithyoko in Masinga, Machakos county, have protested what they termed as a plan to reopen a donkey slaughterhouse in the area.
The residents said they had information that the slaughterhouse, Fuhal Machakos Trading Co. Ltd, would soon be reopened following its closure by the government two years ago.
The slaughterhouse, which was established in November 2018, is located at Kithyoko location in Masinga subcounty.
Donkey meat and milk have been consumed over the years by some communities in Kenya, with the donkey primarily slaughtered in the bush.
This led to gazettement of the donkey alongside quails, ostriches, rabbits, horses, mules and hinnies as food animals in 1999.
In order to promote food safety under the Meat Control (export slaughterhouse) Regulations 1973 (GoK, 2012), four export slaughterhouses were licensed and established in two of the Kenyan regions leading in donkey population within the period 2016-2018.
They include Goldox Kenya Ltd located at Mogotio, Baringo county, Star Brillant Ltd in Naivasha, Nakuru county and Silzha Ltd in Lodwar, Turkana county. All the three donkey slaughterhouses are located in the Rift Valley region. They were established in April 2016, September 2016 and March 2017, respectively.
Fuhal Machakos Trading Co. Ltd is the fourth donkey slaughterhouse in Kenya. It was closed down by the state following a public outcry.
The rationale behind establishment of the slaughterhouses in these areas was the high donkey population.
According to the 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census, Rift Valley region led with the highest donkey population of 988, 647, North Eastern ranked second with a total of 382, 345 and Eastern region third with 304, 249.
Kithyoko residents said the slaughterhouse had no benefits to the community, but had instead exposed them to lots of problems.
They addressed reporters outside the slaughterhouse in Kithyoko, Masinga, on Tuesday.
The residents said donkeys have more benefits than if slaughtered. They said it was against the Kamba community’s culture to slaughter and eat donkeys.
They said their donkeys had been safe for the two years period when the slaughterhouse was closed down by the state.
“The slaughterhouse affected us and the smell due to poor sanitation led to diseases infections. The slaughterhouse shouldn’t be opened, we don’t want our donkeys to be stolen again,” Colleta Mwende, a resident, said.
Mwende said most of the donkeys were stolen at night, a problem they no longer experience in Kithyoko.
Machakos county director of veterinary services Dr David Waweru said there were 23, 348 donkeys in Machakos.
The county official said most of donkeys are found mainly in arid areas of the county such as Yatta, Masinga and Machakos subcounties.
“Donkeys are essential and important to people in those communities because they are used mainly for transportation of water and food from farms,” Dr Waweru said.
He said donkeys are vulnerable animals.
“When donkeys get sick, owners ignore them given the fact that they are no longer useful to them,” he said, adding that there was need for responsible donkey ownership.
“Donkeys must be treated while sick and given enough time to rest.”
He said slaughtering of donkeys was banned in the slaughterhouse for lack of regulation.
“These people were slaughtering as many donkeys as they could in a day, averagely 100. Therefore, slaughtering of donkeys was affecting donkey population in the country,”the county official said.
Dr Waweru said donkeys were slow breeding animals, it takes one and half years for a donkey to give birth.
“The slaughterhouse was closed through intervention of Animal Welfare Societies who protested that the population of donkeys was threatened and their future at risk. Slaughterhouses were sourcing for meat from all over the country [and] donkey prices shot from Sh5,000 to Sh20,000,” he said.
The county official said the government should come up with intervention on improving breeding of donkeys.
“There is need to regulate number of donkeys to be slaughtered in a slaughterhouse per day. Prices of donkeys should also be increased to make owners of slaughterhouses find difficulties in buying them,” he said.
(edited by Amol Awuor)