Activist rescues donkeys, horses from grim fate

Animals’ pelts are prized in Asian countries for their medicinal properties

ANIMAL rights activist Jonathan Sherwin is working around the clock to ensure the safety of donkeys. The animals are slaughtered and their pelts used to make medicinal tonics in Asia.

This week he rescued 136 donkeys and 26 horses - he believes they were destined for the abbatoir – which have been transported to his Karoo Donkey Sanctuary in the Northern Cape.

More than 400 other animals were auctioned on Wednesday in Hartswater, Northern Cape.

Sherwin said abbatoir owners often attended these auctions, which were advertised online.

The auction house did not respond to Weekend Argus’s questions about the animals which were auctioned.

Sherwin said he had made it his mission to try to rescue the animals, and raised money on Facebook to this end.

Sherwin, who is from Cape Town, began rescuing donkeys from “inhumane slaughter practices” three years ago. This weekend he will fly back to the Northern Cape to ensure the animals are safe.

Mpho Mokoena, inspector of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Farm Animal Protection Unit, said they were investigating reports of missing donkeys in the area. “Our concern is for these gentle creatures that are killed in a barbaric and inhumane manner.”

Sherwin said there was a demand for donkey pelts and meat in China. He believed three million hides had been smuggled out of the country. He raised concerns about donkey populations being depleted. The Niger and Burkino Faso governments had banned exports of hides as donkeys faced becoming an endangered species.

“In our country we don’t have measures in place to prevent the theft and inhumane slaughter,” he said.

For example, proper checks on containers leaving local shores are not done, he claimed. This negligence resulted in donkey hides labelled as cow hides, he said.

Sherwin painted a grim pic- ture of how the donkeys were slaughtered. This included the use of hammers to crush their skulls.

Donkey slaughter isn’t illegal in South Africa. “But it needs to be done humanely and guided by our Animals Protection Act and meet safety guidelines,” he said.

He bought the sanctuary four years ago because when he said he realised donkeys were “misunderstood”.

Christine Kuch, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals spokesperson, said the farm animal protection unit had uncovered a “horror donkey killing site” in Olifantshoek, Northern Cape.

Two men had been arrested and charged in terms of the Animals Protection Act and the Meat Safety Act.

She confirmed reports that donkeys had been bludgeoned with hammers and skinned alive.

Kuch said there was demand for donkey pelts. “Donkey hide contains a gelatine which is valued for medicinal purposes, according to a Chinese newspaper.”

She said it was believed to have “anti-ageing properties, treat insomnia and improve blood circulation”.

She said gelatine was a key ingredient in China’s “ejiao” industry, which produces tablets, tonics and a sweet syrup. “The skins are soaked and stewed to produce or release this substance.”

She said the organisation would continue to work to ensure fair treatment for the animals.

“We will take all steps to protect animals and bring perpetrators to justice.”

She lambasted the government for “doing very little to end this practice”.

She said many people in rural areas depended on donkeys for transportation.

She appealed to the public to submit information – anonymously if preferred – to nspca@ nspca.co.za.

PICTURE: SUPPLIED Some 400 donkeys were auctioned on Wednesday in Hartswater in the Northern Cape. An animal rights activist believes the animals are being cruelly slaughtered for their pelts.