Hope for Africa’s donkeys as Ministers rally against skin trade

Ministers from across Africa have made a unanimous commitment to formally protect the continent’s donkeys, honouring the African Union’s 2024 directive and heralding the end of the donkey skin trade in Africa.

The Abidjan Declaration was made at the Pan-African Donkey Conference (PADCo) in Cote D’Ivoire (26/27 June), where The Donkey Sanctuary presented stark new evidence about the devastating impact of the trade on Africa’s women and children in its latest report Stolen Donkeys, Stolen Futures.

The Declaration follows the African Union’s 2024 decision to impose a moratorium on the slaughter of donkeys for their skin and commits to the implementation of the first Pan-African Strategy for the Preservation of Donkey Species in Africa. The strategy has been developed by the AU’s Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), with input from The Donkey Sanctuary and other members of the  International Coalition for Working Equids (ICWE), and determines to ‘protect the donkey, promote its welfare and sustainable utilization in Africa, hence safeguarding its populations and the vulnerable communities that rely on them’.

Figures published by The Donkey Sanctuary reveal at least 5.9 million donkeys are slaughtered for their skin every year to make ejiao, a Traditional Chinese Medicine made from donkey gelatine. Escalating demand has led to the collapse of China’s own donkey population, leading the industry to exploit Africa’s donkeys and the communities who rely on them.

This powerful declaration marks a significant milestone in The Donkey Sanctuary’s long-running campaign to Stop the Slaughter – end the donkey skin trade - the single biggest donkey protection initiative the charity has undertaken in over 50 years of operation.

Niall Duffy, Executive Director of Policy and Profile for The Donkey Sanctuary, who spoke at the closing ceremony, said: “Our latest report reveals the donkey skin trade’s devastating impact, not just on donkeys but on the women and children who rely on them most. And yet there is hope. Nation after nation at the conference in Abidjan spoke of their resolve to stop the donkey skin trade. The Abidjan Declaration is not simply a reaffirmation of the African Union’s 2024 commitment to ban the trade, it is a deep commitment from the member states present, giving direction and momentum to further discussions with all member states to protect a precious resource and create a better world for donkeys.”

Otieno Mtula, Regional Campaigns Manager for The Donkey Sanctuary in Africa, said: “The Donkey Sanctuary has been part of the technical working group behind PADCo and the development of the Pan African donkey strategy. Our efforts have been rewarded with powerful recommendations that set clear instructions for an Africa-wide donkey strategy. Once agreed by the African Union’s Specialized Technical Committee of Ministers, this will go to the Heads of State in February next year for final endorsement.”

In summary, the Abidjan Declaration:

• Unanimously adopts and recommends the Pan African Donkey Strategy for the Preservation of Donkey Specia in Africa, developed by AU-IBAR, and humbly requests AU Heads of State to approve it for adoption and implementation by all member states.
• Reiterates the words of Heads of State and affirms support for an Africa-wide moratorium on the slaughter of donkeys for the purposes of the skin trade.
• Urges all nations to follow the example of 10 African Union states in implementing legislation and policies to crack down on the trade.
• Requests member states refuse to issue new licenses for donkey slaughterhouses and to revoke and suspend all existing licenses.
• Encourages all AU member states to embrace cross-border collaboration to strengthen surveillance of land and maritime borders and informal crossings used for donkey smuggling.
• Recommends AU-IBAR leads the development of a monitoring and reporting matrix to assess implementation of moratorium and pan-African donkey strategy

By: Shona

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