Emirates collaborates with Donkey Sanctuary to fight donkey skin trade

The Donkey Sanctuary, an international animal welfare charity, has joined forces with Emirates to highlight the risks posed by the transportation of donkey skins in air cargo.

"The Donkey Sanctuary and Emirates have co-created the Aviation Risk and Threat Assessment operational guide to highlight the risks posed by the donkey skin trade and its association with serious and organised criminal activity," says an official release from Emirates.

The co-created factsheet will provide the wider aviation industry with critical knowledge in the fight against the donkey skin trade, the release added. "The operational guidelines explain the biosecurity risk of smuggling inadequately processed donkey skins alongside legitimate cargo such as leather or textiles. It also highlights concealment methods and crime convergence where networks involved in the donkey skin trade may also be linked to organised crime such as wildlife and drug trafficking."

Six million donkeys are killed for their skins each year, the majority in Africa, according to the latest figures from The Donkey Sanctuary. These skins are then exported across the world, by ship and by air, before being used to make traditional medicine and remedies, the release added

"Emirates has already implemented a ban on the carriage of donkey hides. In February this year, African Heads of State endorsed a continent-wide moratorium on the slaughter of donkeys for their skins at the 37th African Union (AU) Summit. Within days of the AU decision, Emirates extended its zero-tolerance policy on the carriage of banned species, hunting trophies and other associated products, to include donkey hides and parts."

Marianne Steele, CEO, The Donkey Sanctuary says: “This is another welcome step in the battle against the illegal trade in donkey skins within the transportation sector. We are proud to work alongside Emirates, which is setting new standards with its support for our work and the tightening of its own trafficking policies. We hope that others in the aviation industry will follow suit and join us in cracking down on this cruel and unsustainable trade.

“All measures that shine a light on the inhumane trade in donkey skins are to be applauded, especially given its links to illegal wildlife trafficking and organised crime as well as the threat to human health for everyone involved at every stage in the process.”

Robert Fordree, Senior Vice President, Cargo Operations Worldwide, Emirates SkyCargo adds: “We are proud to bring our expertise in both air logistics and the fight against illegal wildlife trafficking to the preparation of these guidelines. In close collaboration with The Donkey Sanctuary, we have highlighted some of the ways bad actors can exploit the logistics network to transport illicit goods, while also suggesting operational initiatives that can be implemented across the aviation ecosystem to stop trafficking in its tracks. Our hope is that by working with like-minded partners, we can protect the world’s biodiversity for generations to come.”

Download the Aviation Risk and Threat Assessment guide.

This article was originally published on The STAT Trade Times.