Donkey Welfare
The LSPCA implements a donkey project in the districts of Lilongwe, Dedza and Dowa with the aim of improving the welfare of donkeys and the livelihoods of their owners. As a result, the welfare of over 10,000 donkeys has significantly improved and the livelihoods of over 2000 donkey-owning households have been positively impacted since 2017.
Key interventions
- Provision of veterinary care: Our veterinary team provides veterinary care to donkeys through various clinics, including donkey clinics, emergency clinics, and hoof care clinics. Donkey clinics offer primary treatments to donkeys in underserved rural areas using a mobile van. Emergency clinics are available for urgent cases. Hoof care clinics focuse on trimming to prevent lameness and hoof diseases.
- Donkey house upgrading: We provide consultations on donkey housing and work with owners to improve their donkey houses by increasing floor space and providing proper roofing.
- Improvement of existing donkey carts: We collaborate with donkey owners and local artisans to replace wooden yokes on existing carts with donkey-friendly harnesses, enhancing comfort and preventing neck wounds.
- Harness making and use training: We conduct training sessions for donkey owners to make and use donkey-friendly harnesses for pulling carts. This training enables them to significantly reduce the occurrence of wounds caused by wooden yokes.
- Donkey handling and cart driving training: We provide training to donkey owners and cart drivers on proper handling and driving techniques to improve communication and prevent injuries.
- Donkey feed-making training: We train donkey owners in making and preserving donkey feeds using locally available resources.
- Household budgeting training: We provide training to donkey owners on identifying and budgeting for donkey needs within their households, recognizing the significant role donkeys play in generating income.
In addition to direct interventions, the project focuses on enhancing donkey protection. This includes investigating donkey-skin trade throughout Malawi and collaborating with local chiefs to formulate and enforce animal protection by-laws.
In 2023, we focused on building the capacity of local structures to independently implement project activities. This involved training government extension officers, extension veterinary officers, farriers, and harness and cart making artisans.
The donkey project was funded by the Donkey Sanctuary (TDS) between 2017 and 2023. TDS is no longer working in Malawi, so the project is currently unfunded. However, the LSPCA continues to provide emergency veterinary care for donkeys while seeking funding to extend the project to unreached areas.