From August to September 2023, OIPA Cameroon carried out an awareness Campaign ‘on donkey skin trade and the impact  on livelihood  in  BOGO municipality in the Far North Region  Cameroon  with  financial  support  from OIPA International. The overall goal of the campaign was to disrupt cross-border movement and the donkeys hide trade in the region. The project areas were Tchabawol and Balda communities. This was due to the demand for donkey skins for export to China, via Nigeria, which is used for making ejiao, a traditional Chinese remedy believed to have medical properties.

In addition to the negative impacts on the livelihoods of communities who rely on donkeys, there were donkey welfare issues experienced during transport, slaughter at abattoirs, and slaughter in bushes in very cruel ways hence inflicting too much pain on them.

The campaign was successfully completed, and all objectives achieved as per the campaign’s design. Due to the tactical approach of consulting with government officials and local non-governmental organizations that introduced OIPA to communities, the program was accepted by all stakeholders, hence achieving the intended outcomes.

After the ban of slaughtering donkeys in abattoirs, the donkey population is expected to maintain /increased. There was a consensus among the stakeholders that awareness and education campaigns be conducted to emphasize the importance of upholding donkey welfare since overloading, overworking, poor donkey health, and malicious beating were key concerns in the communities.

Arising from the findings of this  campaign, OIPA Cameroon  is  requesting  for support to run a phase two whose overall goal would be to ‘Improve the health and welfare of donkeys in Tchabawol and Balda   communities  and to increase media involvement in campaigns against the cross-border movement of donkeys and slaughter.’ The project would seek to achieve this goal through collaboration with the already established stakeholders in both communities and media houses.

Specific objectives:

  1. Strengthen the quality and accessibility of services directly affecting donkey welfare by increasing the access to quality health services and improving donkey services to 4000 donkeys in BOGO Municipality   by December 2024.
  2. Support the development of positive change in knowledge, attitudes, behavior, and practices of 2000 donkey owners and users in the Municipality with consequent improvement of donkey welfare by December 2024.
  3. Create awareness within the media on the cross-border donkey movement and trade and its effects on community livelihoods.

At the end of the project, it is expected that:

  1. There will be improved accessibility of quality health services for donkeys in both communities.
  2. Communities’ attitudes and behavior towards donkeys will have changed after gaining the required knowledge.
  3. The media will be vigilant in campaigning against the donkey skin trade and educating the public and policymakers about the importance of donkeys in the country.

WOULD YOU HELP US SUPPORT OIPA CAMEROON IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF DONKEYS?



Write note “DONATION TO OIPA CAMEROON” and the exact amount Bank Account: OIPA – Organizzazione Internazionale Protezione Animali – ONLUS Bank Name and Address: Banca Intesa San Paolo – Agency MILAN-BOCCHETTO –  Via Bocchetto 13/15 – 20123 Milan (Italy) Bank details: IBAN Code: IT93I0306909620100000002326 SWIFT Code: BCITITMM Bank Account Number: 100000002326