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Calls to ban the slaughter of donkeys for their skin

An animal welfare charity is calling on governments across Africa to ban the slaughter of donkeys for their skin.

Brooke, which works for the welfare of horses and donkeys, says millions are being killed each year in Chinese slaughter houses which have appeared acrossthe continent over the last 7 years. Their skin is boiled to produce a traditional Chinese remedy called ejiao.

Dr. Raphael Kinoti, is from Brooke in Nairobi. He says after the slaughter houses opened communities started to complain that their donkeys were being stolen, something which had a huge impact on their livelihoods.

"Every donkey you see in Africa wakes up every morning and goes to work. So then when you begin to slaughter them, there comes a crisis... It would be very traumatic because a woman wakes up in the morning and finds her donkey disappeared. They go searching in the village only to find a carcass of a donkey with the skin removed."

(Photo: Sudanese boys riding a donkey. Credit: AFP)

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