Donkey abattoirs still on hold

A draft environmental assessment report is being reviewed by the Chinese and Namibian developers planning to construct and operate a controversial donkey abattoir at Outjo.

Meanwhile, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) that was completed last year for Agrinature Investment and Trade CC, also a reportedly Namibian and Chinese joint venture, to construct a donkey slaughterhouse at Okahandja, is still under review at the environment ministry for the necessary environmental clearance certificate.

Svenja Garrard of Quivertree Consulting confirmed that the Outjo donkey abattoir project by her client, Fu Hai Trading Enterprise, was on hold as the clients, both Namibian and Chinese nationals, were reviewing the findings of the draft EIA.

“Once their review is complete, the report will be updated and finalised and made available to the public for their consideration and input. At that time public meetings will be advertised and held in both Windhoek and Outjo,” she said.

The ministry's division of environmental assessments last week confirmed to Namibian Sun that the application by developers in Okahandja was still being processed. “No clearance has been issued yet.”

The EIA, a copy of which the ministry shared with Namibian Sun last year, showed that the version the ministry made public was completed in November 2016.



Outjo outrage

Namibian Sun last year reported that Fu Hai Trading Enterprises CC had applied for land from the Outjo municipality to start a donkey slaughterhouse there, for export of meat and donkey skins to China where donkey skin is a highly prized and lucrative business.

One of the local partners of Fu Hai Trading is Shane Quinton Hangula, an estate agent at Dappa Estates and Properties in Swakopmund.

His Chinese partner has only been identified as 'Mr Chengdabiek' to date.

In October last year, Namibian Sun reported that a notice signed by Hangula had been handed out in Outjo claiming that the company had been given the “go-ahead from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Veterinary Services and Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET)” for the donkey abattoir.

This claim was immediately dismissed by both the agriculture and environment ministries.

In Okahandja, Agrinature Investment and Trade CC, a joint venture business partnership of unidentified Chinese and Namibian people, also put in place plans to open a slaughterhouse.

The abattoir will be built on Erf 780, Okahandja, a property leased in 2015 to Agrinature by Stina Wu of First Wall Property Investments CC, according to the lease agreement seen by Namibian Sun.



Questions, concerns abound

The plans to operate donkey slaughterhouses have raised serious concerns and the authorities have repeatedly been urged to ensure that the impacts are known before these operations are given the green light.

The donkey hides would be exported to China, where they are used to produce gelatine, a key ingredient in the making of a traditional Chinese medicine called ejiao.

The plans to erect donkey abattoirs in Namibia are in line with many countries that were initially convinced of its benefits, but later shut down operations due to numerous negative consequences.

Donkey prices surged, making them unaffordable to locals, and donkey theft increased at concerning rates.

The Donkib Ge Cultural Group in Namibia urged the government to halt all plans for donkey abattoirs until sufficient research was done on the trade and its impacts.

Abner Axel Xoagub warned that Namibia's donkeys are vital to communities and “without donkeys, the communities will be dormant, stagnant and poor.”

Xoagub said Namibia did not have any legal framework to protect and facilitate the registration of donkeys and it could be “highly risky and counterproductive” for the agriculture sector when mass donkey harvesting began.

The Outjo municipality has publicly assured residents that Fu Hai Trading Enterprises cannot go ahead with the abattoir should they not meet all necessary legal and other requirements.

The Donkey Sanctuary, an international organisation that visited Namibia last year, has studied the impact of the donkey skin trade around the globe.

They warned that the local donkey population faced the risk of extinction because the business model was not sustainable and would lead to a booming black market.

They emphasised the risks to the lives of poor communities dependent on the animals.

In the publication 'Under the Skin', the Donkey Sanctuary warned that “the trade in donkey skins and meat is a growing concern in terms of animal welfare, public health and economic, social and cultural stability.”

The authors add that developing countries “in which communities have a heavy reliance on donkeys as working animals” are particularly vulnerable.

In September, Chief Seth Kooitjie of the Topnaar Traditional Authority said the community was worried.

Kooitjie said they did not have a good understanding of the abattoirs' effect on their animals as yet.

“It might not be a bad business but if it has disastrous consequences, the government must put in place strict laws and procedures to control such businesses,” he suggested.

JANA-MARI SMITH