Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

Report of the Austrian association “Respect animals” (www.respektiere.at)

It is one of the least known tragedies in dealing with animals, which nevertheless happens every day and for that reason alone is all the more shocking – the transport of donkeys from Mauritanian villages in the south and east of the country to the capital! It goes over distances of up to 1200 kilometers, mostly on slopes and through deserts, mind you.

Terrible things happen in each case, and very few people even know about it.

Photos: Donkey transport on the PickUp loading area – unbelievable!

That is why we wanted to accompany such a mode of transport as early as 2019, but this could not take place for various reasons; Postponed to 2020, the pandemic intervened and once again made it impossible to act.

Now we sincerely hope that the project can finally be implemented in 2021 …

Our team watches the arrival of the donkey again and again – incredibly sad moments are the order of the day, death is a constant companion of them. Squeezed in almost to the point of immobility, many of the animals are unable to cope with the ordeal of the up to 2-day journey at temperatures often well over 40 degrees.

Again and again, the dying is unloaded or already rescued dead. They are the unmourned creatures of the planet, their demise is a hardly registered, hardly recorded one.

‘Highway to hell’, at least from the donkey’s point of view, this is how one would have to rename the famous ‘Road of Peace’ to the east – to where many of the youngsters come from …

These days, the pictures of the RespekTiere-Mauritania team have once again pulled the floor from under our feet. All the tragedy of the moment, all the immeasurable sadness, captured in the memory of the camera card.

These are photos that can no longer be delayed; those that encourage us in our plans: as soon as possible we will be on our way to capture the heartbreaking tragedy on film.
In order to start a public discussion, hopefully far beyond the borders of Mauritania.

But even more important: in the country itself, to make the shocking events an agenda …

And as if to top it off: the immense threat to donkeys from China’s insatiable hunger for ‘ejiao’, a gelatin made from donkey skin, is still the talk of the day.

‘Ejiao’ promises consumers true miracles: better sleep, healthier skin, better sex life, a dozen times more energy, the elimination of wrinkles, or even the destruction of tumors …

As a result, China’s donkey population has already collapsed, showing a 75% reduction compared to the late 1990s; the ‘red dragon’ therefore buys donkeys, currently around 2 million animals a year.

This is why the populations elsewhere – especially in Africa – are declining sharply. The demand is huge.

It is said that even 10 million animals would hardly be enough to cover the market.
Some African states have long since declared an export ban; in fact, the’ black continent’ is in danger of not hosting donkeys within a few years.

Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional |