The Siaya County Government, in collaboration with agricultural stakeholders and animal welfare advocates, is pushing for the fast-tracked passage of a comprehensive donkey welfare bill to protect vulnerable communities and curb the devastating impacts of illegal slaughter and exploitation.
The proposed legislation seeks to establish a structured legal and policy framework to safeguard donkeys across five core domains: health, nutrition, environment, behaviour, and treatment.
Speaking during a stakeholder engagement forum, Pamela Opiyo, the Team Leader of Support for Tropical Initiatives in Poverty Alleviation (STIPA), emphasised that the lack of a legal mechanism has severely hindered sustained animal welfare intervention strategies.
”STIPA has been running a donkey welfare program, but we realize this is not very easy without a policy framework on which we can develop strategies and regulations for effective implementation,” Opiyo said. “We are hoping to see a county where, if someone offends a donkey, there is a framework within which penalties can be administered. For now, people will ask you, ‘On what basis?'”
Opiyo highlighted the critical socio-economic reliance on the animals, particularly in the arid regions of Siaya County where women and children bear the brunt of domestic labour. Donkeys serve as primary economic lifelines carrying water, transporting agricultural trade merchandise, reducing the physical burden on women, and generating household income to cover basic needs like food and school fees.
Willis Ochieng, the Siaya County Executive Committee Member (CECM) representing the Directorate of Agriculture, confirmed that the executive is actively partnering with STIPA to push the sponsored bill through the local legislature.
”As the County Government of Siaya, we are very aware of the challenges affecting donkey farmers,” Ochieng stated. “We will work in partnership with the County Assembly to make sure that we fast-track and pass this bill so that the problems affecting donkey farmers are handled legally.”
Otieno added that county veterinary officers have already been mobilized and stand ready to partner with local farmers to provide specialized medical treatments and general welfare advisory services.
Advocates argue that local legislative protections are urgent due to broader national and international threats targeting the regional donkey population. Opiyo raised alarms over the historic commercial exploitation of the animals driven by foreign demand, particularly from China, where donkey skins are highly prized for traditional products.
Reflecting on national statistics, Opiyo noted that between 2015 and 2018, the commercial slaughter of donkeys was legally permitted in Kenya, leading to the establishment of four major slaughterhouses in Naivasha, Baringo, Turkana, and Mogotio.
”Within a very short time, over one million donkeys were slaughtered,” Opiyo warned, pointing out that a 2019 census conducted by the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) revealed that nearly a third of the country’s previous population of 2.9 million donkeys had vanished. Despite the closure of official slaughterhouses, advocates note that bush slaughters in remote forests continue to feed illegal meat and skin supply chains.
The stakeholders are now making a direct appeal to members of the Siaya County Assembly to prioritize the legislation.
”We plead to our Siaya County Assembly to internalize this and take it as their own because they represent the very vulnerable,” Opiyo urged. “Kindly take this positively and pass the bill as soon as you can so we can ensure our donkeys are protected, safe, and living a life worth living.”
