For decades, donkeys have served as a major means of transporting people and goods, including sand and building materials, refuse and manure to farms, as well as water vending in most rural areas of Kano State. In those days, a household was often considered incomplete without the presence of a donkey or donkeys.
Over time, the extensive use of donkeys gave rise to a thriving and legitimate business involving their buying and selling. The donkey trade in Kano became a long-standing but highly sensitive activity, gradually shaped by culture, export demand and, in recent years, government restrictions through regulations.
In Kano State, donkeys are not just animals; they are a critical part of rural livelihoods, transport systems in areas with poor road access, and small-scale farming as well as serving as a means of easing means of doing things even in the cities. However, the recent development in their disappearance or rather, scarcity, affects rural transportation, market access and the livelihoods of many people, who depend on donkey-related labour to ease their ways of doing things.
Technology gradually replaces donkeys
In Kano and much of northern Nigeria, the sustainability of the use of donkeys has historically been linked to the fact that donkeys have been used for a wide range of activities, including farm work and the transportation of produce, water and firewood. Clearly, donkeys have long been regarded as economic assets, not merely livestock. It was gathered that there were times when donkeys are considered as part of wealth, the high number of donkeys one has, the wealthier he will be termed.
According to a 64-year-old resident of Gofaru in Gezawa Local Government Area of Kano State, Malam Hamisu Tanimu, recent development had forced people to abandon donkeys for motorcycles. He explained that donkeys had become unaffordable, with prices skyrocketing beyond the reach of the average villager.
He added that donkeys were also becoming increasingly scarce as their prices rise, while motorcycles were seen as easier and more cost-effective alternatives to donkeys.
“People now find it more convenient to use motorcycles instead of donkeys because their prices are far above our reach and they are now very scarce,” he said.
Findings from markets that deals in donkeys revealed that a large donkey now sells for between N370,000 and N500,000, compared to the obtainable price of about N120,000 a few years ago. Medium-sized donkeys are sold between N250,000 and N370,000 while smaller or younger animals cost less, depending on age and its health condition.
Another former donkey user, Isah Bello Kademi, said he sold his four donkeys after receiving a good offer and because their use had declined due to the adoption of other means of transportation. He was left without an option. He said he previously used the donkeys to transport manure from his house to his farm and to move farm produce back home.
“With the advent of motorcycles, the use of donkeys became obsolete and ineffective. Moreover, there are people willing to part ways with good amounts of money for the donkeys,” he explained.
Donkey trading for farming and transport, common in rural markets such as Dawakin Tofa, Gaya, Bichi and Laraba Abasawa, once flourished across Kano State, even as the practical use of donkeys began to decline. People from other parts of the country usually flooded these markets in search of donkeys. It was reported that the new trend had succeeded in mopping donkeys out of major livestock markets across northern Nigeria.
Donkey merchants revealed that the emergence of a new and troubling trend – the trade in donkey skin and genitals – has encouraged the scarcity of the animal. According to a merchant, Alhaji Sagir Muhammad, between 2015 and 2017, Kano became a major hub for donkey skin and genital trade, driven largely by high demand from China.
He explained that the skins and genitals are used in the production of traditional medicine in China. He also said this development led middlemen to purchase donkeys in large numbers from rural communities across northern Nigeria and neighbouring countries to other parts of the country, not for work but slaughter. The meat is consumed while the skins are sold as by-products.
“When middlemen discovered the profits in this business, they rushed into massive purchase of donkeys and this led to a sharp rise in demand and prices and a rapid decline in donkey populations as animals kept in homes were sold for slaughter. This has seriously threatened the existence of donkeys in the country,” he said.
Experts note that donkeys have naturally slow reproductive rates, usually producing only one foal per breeding cycle and breeding less frequently than many other livestock. With widespread slaughter far outpacing breeding, donkey populations continue to shrink, making recovery slow and difficult.
Ban and regulation
Reports indicate that when governments realised that donkeys were facing the threat of extinction and that this posed serious consequences for farmers and rural livelihoods, the Kano State Government banned donkey slaughter and export. Similarly, the federal government placed restrictions on the export of donkey skins.
According to a veterinarian, Amos Auta, the movement and slaughter of donkeys now require official permission, and offenders risk arrest, fines and prosecution. He noted that despite these measures, illegal trade persists, often carried out at night or across state borders.
As a result, donkey slaughter and skin trading remain illegal. Donkey theft has increased, cross-border smuggling has intensified and the threat to the animal’s survival continues to grow.
Experts’ advice
A veterinarian, Dr Aminu Ado, said Nigerian experts and government officials had increasingly raised concerns about donkeys heading towards local extinction, mainly due to illegal slaughter for skins and the collapse of their population. He explained that authorities such as the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) must continue to enforce the ban on donkey skin exports under national laws and export prohibition lists. He stressed that anyone involved in illegal trading or slaughter should be prosecuted.
“The NAQS is doing a commendable work. There have been cases where donkey skins and genitals were seized and destroyed,” he said.
