Donkey slaughter for export grows 8000% and threatens the species in Brazil

The slaughter of donkeys for the legal and illegal sale of their hides on the foreign market threatens the existence of these animals in the country. The warning has been raised by researchers from USP’s faculty of veterinary medicine and animal science (FMVZ) in an article on the welfare of donkeys and mules published in a special issue of the Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Research and Animal Science. The work showed that considering only MAPA (the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply) records, the slaughter increased by more than 8000% between 2015 and 2019 when 91,645 animals were killed. Between 2010 and 2014, there were just over 1,000 slaughters across the country. The researchers point out that the current pace puts the species at risk. The estimated herd in Brazil is 400,000 animals, and the reproduction rates do not keep pace with the slaughters.

The slaughter of horses, mules, and donkeys has been approved in Brazil for many years. The decree 9013/2017 provides the legal framework that allows the slaughter of donkeys and other species. Based on MAPA data, the article points out that 135,254 donkeys were legally slaughtered between 2002 and 2019.

Statistics on the export of raw hides prepared by the Ministry of Development, Industry, and Trade (MDIC) also include donkeys, horses, and mules, and show that between 2002 and 2019, the main destinations of Brazilian exports were Italy, Portugal, Hong Kong, Spain, and China. “Between 2002 and 2010, an average of 7,354 tons of skins and hides were exported per year, mostly to meet the demand from European countries for horse meat and leather, but a European Union ban reduced the average to 18 .3 tons per year between 2011 and 2020”, point out the authors of the article. “In 2019, exports were 98.8 tons, increasing 4,640% compared to the previous year. This is probably related to the increase in the slaughter of donkeys and the export of skins, mainly to China, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. ”

Source: One Planet

To read the full original article, visit the link:

https://umsoplaneta.globo.com/biodiversidade/noticia/2021/07/22/abate-de-jumentos-para-exportacao-cresce-8000percent-e-ameaca-a-especie-no-brasil.ghtml

Sharing is caring!