Brooke - IGAD Regional Conference on Donkey skin Trade

The Brooke-IGAD regional conference on donkey skin trade, was held in Nairobi at Laico Regency Hotel from 26th to 27th November 2019. The conference was attended by 201 participants drawn from 13 countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, Zimbabwe, China and UK. Among the participants were representatives of donkey owning communities and community groups, national and local governments and government agencies, religious groups, animal welfare/ humanitarian and conservation organizations, media, academia, owners of slaughterhouses and organizations intervening on donkey welfare The conference considered several aspects of the donkey skin trade a global issue of concern to Brooke and a crisis in Kenya and East African States. Recent dialogues and conversation with IGAD as well as the Government of Kenya proposed a regional approach to address the issue of donkey skin trade, culminating to this event.

STRUCTURE OF THE CONFERENCE

The conference was held for two days and featured welcoming remarks by CEO of Brooke Global, several opening speeches as well as a keynote address. The keynote address and discussions set the tone for the conference and laid the groundwork for the debates and deliberations. The conference also included plenary and panel discussions and side events/meetings, to facilitate informal exchange and discussion that require concrete resolutions and recommendations.

THEME: Donkeys are Better Alive than Dead. The deliberations at the Conference addressed;

1. Protection and conservation of donkeys both as work animals and species.
2. The socio-economic impacts of the donkey skin trade on donkey owning communities and service beneficiaries
3. Animal welfare, disease /biosecurity control and environmental consideration (including environmental impacts of slaughter operations and compliance).
4. Policy and legislation implications at regional and national levels including movement of animals and cross border aspects and compliance issues.
5. Donkey skin trade in the lenses of culture and religion
6. Linkages between illegal donkey skin trade and other types of criminality including wildlife crime.
7. Role of civil society and modalities for drafting resolutions for UNEA