Chinese traders are driving the cruel slaughter of donkeys across Southern Africa, for traditional potions that use gelatin in the hide. Investigation by Oscar Nkala The cruel treatment and slaughter of donkeys at Bo Chang abattoir galvanised the government into temporarily suspending all licences When Chinese businessman Daniel Wong arrived in the Kweneng district of Botswana in November 2015, he excited local councillors and thousands of poor donkey farmers by detailing how they could make millions out of exporting donkey meat and hides to China. Wong’s proposal to partner the local council in setting up a donkey abattoir to export hides and meat to Hong Kong and China was welcomed as a high-value substitute for the loss of the beef industry, which froze in 2013 due to recurrent outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in Botswana. With government encouragement, the Kweneng District Council approved the opening of Botswana’s first pilot donkey abattoir at Lentsweletau, one of the largest communities in Kweneng. Due to its rudimentary nature, the local authority called the little abattoir a “slaughter slab”. Councillors Gaopalelwe Ronald and Saoqho Kotongwa said the abattoir would be a money-spinner, and would help farmers to cull the excessive regional donkey population. Wong’s donkey abattoir plan also gained favour with the Development Advancement Institute in Botswana, a development support group. The institute’s Botswana head, Sylvester Matlho, said the project would enrich donkey farmers and help address the problem of high youth unemployment in the district. By January 2016 Wong was operating Botswana’s first donkey “slaughter slab” on a trial basis in Kweneng, exporting the hides and processing the meat locally to make pet foods. Wong said there were “endless” donkey export opportunities for Botswana because China’s monthly requirement of 100,000 slaughtered donkeys was not being met due to “political opposition” against the trade. His donkey abattoir in Lentsweletau, which is still running, gave rise to the idea that donkeys could be traded for fast cash, leading to reports of theft and illegal slaughter in Molepolole, Ghanzi and the Ngamiland. Workers at an ejiao production facility in Hong Kong. Photo © George Knowles/Hong Kong According to the Under the Skin report published in January 2017 by The Donkey Sanctuary, a United Kingdom-based organisation that campaigns globally for donkey welfare, rural communities in Africa risk being impoverished by a “relentless” Chinese demand for donkey hides. In China, the skins are stewed to produce gelatin, a key ingredient in the making of ejiao, a traditional Chinese medicine, according to the report. Also known as “donkey hide glue”, ejiao is processed into gelatinous bars, pills or tonics which are used to treat medical conditions that include insomnia, dizziness, nose-bleeding and dry coughs. It is also believed to be an anti-ageing agent, in addition to increasing libido and reducing chances for the development of reproductive organ-related diseases among post-menopausal women. The true scale of the underground donkey hide trade spawned by Wong’s trial “slaughter-slab” experiment went unrecognised until early 2016 when police in Molepolole arrested what they called a “syndicate” of four Zimbabweans and a Chinese citizen in connection with illegal slaughter and export to Zimbabwe of 1,200 donkey hides. A total of 897 wet and 303 dried donkey hides were found in a truck at a warehouse owned by a Motswana businessman who was licensed to export cow hides. He was charged with the illegal slaughter of the donkeys, and illegal possession and export of their hides. All four Zimbabweans were in Botswana illegally. The names of the other three were not given, but their team leader was identified as Isaac Phiri. He told investigators that for months, they had bought and slaughtered donkeys at cattle posts in Mabutsane, Kweneng and Dutlwe on behalf of Hondge, a Chinese-owned donkey hide exporter based in Harare, Zimbabwe. From Harare, Hongde trucked its products to the Mozambican port of Pemba for shipment to China and Hong Kong. The Chinese man, who was not identified in police reports, was found with P230,000 (about R297,000 / US$22,400) in cash. He told police that he was only in Botswana to check why the Zimbabweans had delayed a delivery of hides to Harare. There is no record of the case going to trial in court, and attempts by Oxpeckers to obtain the case file were unsuccessful. Police involved in the case advised getting comment from the Minister of Justice, Defence and Security, Shaw Kgathi, but he did not respond to questions sent by email.