MY interest in donkeys is a result of a recent visit to Dong’e County, Liaocheng City, Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China, in the first week of November 2024. I was invited by a mega Chinese conglomerate to attend the International Donkey Industry Development Conference, a star-studded affair and gathering of stakeholders and experts from various countries. The aim of the Conference was to promote the global transition of donkeys into livestock and achieve sustainable development. This event was a platform for international cooperation, knowledge exchange and mutual benefits. Three years ago, a Chinese businessman, who has established a slaughterhouse employing over 500 workers and staff that would process more than 200,000 donkeys annually in Gwadar, tried to motivate me to enter into donkey breeding. At that time, My Group was reluctant to take up this project. I rue the lost three years.
I had the opportunity to visit the Dong’E E-Jiao (DEEJ) donkey farm in Dong’e County. It is the largest processor of donkeys annually, including black donkeys. The semen it collects from the animals is used at twenty breeding centres across China. The company is located in Dong’e District, the donkey-hide gelatine’s birthplace, which enjoys the reputation of “hometown of donkey-hide gelatine” as it has a two thousand-year history of producing donkey-hide gelatine. The company, with over 65,000 shareholders, produces and sells six major industrial categories, encompassing more than 100 varieties, including Chinese patent medicines, healthcare products, biomedicine, pharmaceutical adjuvant and medical equipment. It accounts for 75% and 90% of the national total production volume and export volume of donkey-hide gelatine. Its Ejiao tonic is among the top ten tonic products of China.
In countries, such as Pakistan and India, the word donkey is generally used a slur, as demeaning someone, and as a humiliating adjective. Donkeys are primarily used for transportation of goods as well as people. The unique characteristic of its body, its skin colour, and its braying have relegated it to a lower status among animals. However, for the Chinese, the donkey provides delectable meat, nourishing milk, high methane dung, and the incredible gelatine (Ejiao in Chinese which is considered as premium medicine) from its hide is a vital ingredient for many Traditional Chinese Medicines. The donkey industry is truly a traditional health industry, and the objective is to create an ecosystem by following the core principle of breeding donkeys as a medicine. This ecosystem focuses on various business operations such as breeding, disease prevention, feeds, farming, trading, value addition, catering, and even tourism. Ever since donkeys were domesticated thousands of years ago, they have played a unique role in carrying heavy loads, pulling carts, and being used for other difficult tasks.
Research reveals that donkey specific tales are an important part of the Chinese folk culture. Poets came up with poems to express their feelings about what they saw and heard when riding donkeys. These poems have left a mark on Chinese history. Chinese characters for donkeys were also designed and are popular. The donkeys were also used by the military in the olden days. In China, the donkey farming has transformed from small undertakings to industrialized animal husbandry operations. The donkey is a treasure all over.
Pakistan has emerged as largest exporter of donkeys for the last dozen consecutive years. For sure, donkeys are destined to be foreign exchange earners for Pakistan if, and it’s a big if, a full force of breeding of donkeys is implemented. Pakistan and China signed a protocol during the recent visit of Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang. China has agreed to import meat and hides of 200,000 donkeys a year from Pakistan. Pakistan has an estimated donkey population of nearly six million and is a growing population. If for the past several thousand years, donkey breeding has been going on, then there is no justification for the Pakistani agrarian community, as well as businessmen, not to formidably enter this lucrative industry. Donkey meat is also a delicacy in some European countries too. Donkey breeding has great prospects for the future. New products made from donkeys are simply amazing because they provide nutrition and improve the health of the people. It is reported that about four million donkeys are slaughtered every year to meet the demand for Ejiao which is supposedly a youth-preserving gelatine found in the skins of the donkey.
There is, of course, the imperative need to institutionalize donkey breeding. An ideal farm should have a competent veterinarian as well as a capable dietician along with staff who are well aware of the health, care, and nourishment of the donkeys. A healthy donkey creates image building for the farm and can help earn millions for the owner. There should also be an in-house laboratory where the food is tested, the quality of the semen is assessed, and where the nutritional, vaccines, and other products are evaluated before using them on the donkeys. This would certainly give an edge to the breeder since the lab results would be a certificate of quality. Protection of animals from the vagaries of nature must also be focused upon.
It is also incumbent upon the government to introduce a policy of facilitative financial loans for the setting up of breeding farms and must announce a policy of export rebates for the industry. Special incentives could be provided for the manufacture of gelatine since value addition is crucial for a profitable business. Exporting donkey meat and hides to China is a big opportunity and if Pakistan does not avail this offer, the fault would rest not just on government but also on Pakistani entrepreneurs. A hint from the quote of the Russian American writer, H. P. Blavatsky, who said that “Donkeys have the courage to bray after the death of a lion” should give the local entrepreneurs the stimulus to become successful donkey breeders.
—The writer is Former President, Employers Federation of Pakistan, based in Karachi.
