Kenya’s first donkey abattoir is ‘dead’. The rampant gunshots at the once vibrant multimillion-shilling donkey slaughterhouse in Mogotio, Baringo County, are now silent.
Mr Lu Donglin , the founder of the abattoir which started its operations in 2016, died in 2019 and passed the baton to his son Lu Jin.
And just as Jin was preparing to transform the economic fortunes of the arid region by upgrading the factory into a new business model, he suffered yet another blow in February when the government banned commercial slaughter of donkeys following a rise in animal theft
According to Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, the ban was necessary because slaughtering of donkeys led to job losses in places where they are the main source of livelihoods.
The Goldox Donkey Slaughterhouse in Mogotio. Operations stalled after the government closed the abattoir.
Photo credit: Francis Mureithi | Nation Media Group
Theft of donkeys disenfranchised farmers who use them to transport farm produce or fetch water in rural Kenya.
The ban dealt a blow to the Chinese investor who was targeting China, Russia, and other Far East countries where donkey products are in high demand. Mr Munya advised the owners of the abattoirs to shift to slaughtering cows, sheep and goats.
At Goldox slaughterhouse, a German shepherd roams in the factory compound, perhaps sniffing around for the last drops of donkey blood.
Donkey population in Kenya is under serious threat due to the demand for their hides, which are used to produce ejiao , a gelatin-based Chinese traditional medicine.
According to a report titled: “The Status of donkeys slaughter in Kenya and implications on community livelihoods” authored by Dr Monicah Maichomo, Ms Tabby Karanja, Dr Moses Olum, Dr Joan Magero, Prof Timothy Okech, and Mr Njoroge Nyoike, Kenya’s donkey population has dwindled from 1.8 million in 2009 to about 600,000 in 2019.
The experts from Kenya Agricultural, Livestock and Research Organisation (Kalro), and The Brooke East Africa, a donkey advocacy group, warns that if nothing is done to curb the unchecked slaughter of the animals, Kenya will have no donkeys by 2023.
A worker at Goldox Kenya Limited breeding farm in Mogotio, Baringo County, feeding the donkeys on July 23, 2020.
Photo credit: Francis Mureithi | Nation Media Group
The 50 page report states that donkey meat was gazetted as a food in 1999 with the aim of improving food safety and stimulating donkey production in response to market availability.
“An increase in global demand for donkey meat and skin led to establishment and licensing of donkey slaughterhouses. To this end, four export donkey slaughterhouses were established, licensed and operationalised within the period 2016 – 2018, namely: Goldox Kenya Ltd in Baringo County, Star Brilliant Donkey Abattoir in Nakuru County, Silzha Ltd in Turkana County and Fuhai Machakos Trading Co. Ltd in Kithyoko, Machakos County,” said the report.
“Licensing of the slaughterhouses was envisaged as a potential avenue to increase the commercial value of the donkey and create jobs thus contributing to improved livelihoods. It was understood that full operations of the four slaughterhouses required a steady flow of donkeys, beyond the current population,” added the report.
An donkeys holding bay at Goldox Slaughterhouse in Mogotio, Baringo County.
Photo credit: Francis Mureithi | Nation Media Group
However, the report further states that since there is no policy on donkey breeding or law preventing slaughter of pregnant donkeys, the owners of donkey slaughterhouses, upon licensing, were advised to establish breeding farms and avoid slaughtering pregnant ones as a good practice and to sustain their slaughterhouses, but this has not been done.
When the Nation toured the Sh500 million Goldox Kenya Limited abattoir in Chemogoch village, nothing was going on
The pungent smell of donkey remains is no more. Farmers no longer take their animals to the 10 acre farm for weighing and medical check-up.
A garage outside the slaughterhouse is now dormant, while kiosks outside the main entrance to the facility have been shut down. Massive machines and boilers are rusting away. The lagoons which managed its effluent are sparkling clean, an indication that slaughtering has stopped.
Inside the quiet slaughterhouse, only metals hang loosely from the rail on the rooftop. The cold rooms are no longer in use.
The packaging machines for wrapping up export products are lying idle and are covered with polythene papers to keep off dust. At bone meal factory, the massive boilers are now as cold as ice. Vehicles earmarked for disposal lie at the parking yard.
Hundreds of workers in white aprons who used to criss-cross the expansive factory are conspicuously missing. Trucks that used to transport fresh produce to the Port of Mombasa are now grounded.
Before its abrupt closure, Goldox, was turning the tonnes of bones from the slaughtered beasts of burden into bone meal, an important ingredient that is used as organic fertiliser and for the preparation of animal feeds. The bone meal was sold locally and also exported to China.
The country has lost a substantial amount of foreign exchange since operations Goldox Kenya Limited stopped on March 22.
“My plans this year was to expand the bone meal facility due to the rising demand for the product in Kenya and abroad,” says Mr Jin.
Some of the vehicles at Goldox Slaughterhouse in Mogotio, Baringo County.
Photo credit: Francis Mureithi | Nation Media Group
But the biggest losers in the donkey venture, targeting mainly the export market, are herders. They were paid upon delivering their animals. A donkey weighing between 150-160kg fetched between Sh9,000 and Sh10,000.
“We have started a donkey breeding farm to boost the numbers, we are giving them young donkeys to rear and this is a golden opportunity for the government to support our initiative and reopen our slaughterhouse,” said Mr Jin.
“The government should reinstate the business licence because the investor has started a breeding farm to ensure long term sustainability,” said Mr Tuitoek.
The legislator said that the facility management, which has an elaborate traceability mechanism, was working closely with local chiefs to ensure no stolen donkeys end up at the slaughterhouse.
Senior Chief Lembus Mogotio Julius Kangogo said the closure of the slaughterhouse has economically affected the residents.
A dog roaming inside Goldox slaughterhouse in Mogotio.
Photo credit: Francis Mureithi | Nation Media Group
“The indefinite closure of slaughterhouse has led to loss of jobs, and I urge the government to open the facility,” said Mr Kangogo.
At least 300-400 donkeys were slaughtered daily at the abattoir. Local residents, too, are feeling the effects of the closure of the abattoir.
“The government should have conducted public participation instead of waking up one day and closing the slaughterhouse factory just because some donkey welfare lobby groups have raised a red flag on the diminishing number of donkeys,” said Mr Gideon Kiplangat.
He added: “We are pastoralists and we are ready to rear more donkeys to ensure the factory is up and running.”
A total of 301,977 donkeys were slaughtered countrywide between April 2016 and December 2018.
