Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi Hints at Lifting Donkey Slaughter Ban and Donkey Meat Sales
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi hinted on Saturday, June 17. That a nationwide ban on the slaughter and sale of donkeys may be lifted.
Linturi stated in Baringo that donkeys were considered livestock under his ministry. And that he would care for them and ensure their owners’ well-being, adding that the matter was under consideration.
The CS added that if donkey slaughter were legalized. The government would take precautions to ensure that it was conducted by the Constitution’s guidelines.
His relocation, he explained, was due to the ban’s effect on unemployment. He stated that if lifting the ban would result in employment opportunities for young people. Then it would be the right thing to do.
“If lifting the ban will ensure that young people return to the workforce, then I will do everything possible to help them find employment.
“I am ecstatic to hear that, because if people can eat the meat, why shouldn’t we give it to them and even export it so we can earn foreign currency from donkey meat?” he emphasized.
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His remarks followed complaints by Baringo residents, including Mogotio MP Ruben Kiborek, who bemoaned the loss of employment following the ban on donkey slaughter.
The Arrest of Donkey Meat Vendors
Police officers in Kikuyu, Kiambu County, arrested two suspects after discovering an illegal donkey slaughtering ring during a home raid.
During the raid, police recovered 51 donkeys destined for slaughter along with donkey remains.
Erick Wamurefu, the deputy county commissioner of Kikuyu, warned of a rise in donkey theft, stating that numerous animals were stolen from other regions and slaughtered in Dagoretti.
To prevent the extinction of donkeys, the government prohibits their slaughter and shuts down all donkey slaughterhouses in August 2021.
The move occurred after the High Court overturned a donkey slaughter ban that had been in effect since February 2020, allowing the slaughter and sale of donkey meat as well as hides to Asian markets and beyond.
However, the government argued that the commercialization of donkey slaughter would deplete the donkey population and have a direct impact on those whose way of life depended on animal for transporting goods.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi Hints at Lifting Donkey Slaughter Ban and Donkey Meat Sales
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