Jaipur : Women’s cosmetics and men’s masculinity enhancing medicines in China are costing heavily to the donkeys of Rajasthan. Due to the use of donkey skin in these medicines, donkeys from six states of the country including Rajasthan are being smuggled into China. In China, gelatin is extracted by boiling the skin of donkeys from which sexual enhancers and immune booster medicines are made. In the study report of UK based organization Brook India, this has been cited as the main reason for the decline in the number of donkeys. This has also affected the four-day donkey fair of Khalkani Mata during Shardiya Navratri in Bhavgarh Bandhya, Jaipur. About two decades ago, more than 25,000 donkeys from all over the country used to come to the fair for sale. This time only 15 donkeys came for sale in the fair.
Only one lakh twenty thousand left in the country
Donkeys from Ladakh, Afghanistan, Kathmandu, Sindh, Punjab, Gujarat used to come to the fair. Initially the organizers were considering it to be less useful for donkeys, but the report has forced the Animal Husbandry Department to think. According to the 2019 live stock animal census, only 1.2 lakh donkeys were left in the country, which was recorded to be an average of 61.23 percent less than the 2012 animal census.
60 lakh donkeys slaughtered every year
The report says that donkey skin is used extensively in China’s cosmetic industry. Medicine is made from the skin to increase the masculinity of men. The sale of this drug worldwide is so much that every year 60 lakh donkeys are killed in the world. Due to this, donkeys are being imported to China illegally from other countries including India. A study conducted by Brook India states that Indian donkeys are being sent to China via Nepal. Brook India has submitted the report to the Animal Husbandry and Dairy Department of the Government of India.
Focus on these 6 states including Rajasthan
Under the RTI Act, information was sought from DGFT regarding the export of donkeys and their skins from 2016 to 2019. But due to lack of data the information could not be obtained. After this, Brook India got a study done from Sharat Verma of Ludhiana. The study revealed that donkeys from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, UP and Gujarat are being sent to China.
Earlier, donkeys from far away places used to come to the donkey fair, but when the report came out, everyone was stunned. Like the conservation of camels, the government should also take concrete steps for donkey conservation.
