Jasaw's committee says Ghana should match African Union and ECOWAS commitments with breeding programmes and tighter borders.

Published 6 Nov 2026, 13:29 GMT

3 min read

Donkeys stand beside a reed fence around green irrigated vegetable beds in dry brown savannah under a pale, hazy sky, with a village in the distance — Dry-season vegetable farming in Pelugu, northern Ghana. The north has a single rainy season, from May to October.

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Parliament's agriculture committee wants tougher rules, tighter borders and local breeding so Ghana's donkeys are not wiped out for their skins.

The Select Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs, chaired by Dr Godfred Seidu Jasaw, met Brooke West Africa and other animal-welfare advocates over slaughter and the illegal cross-border trade in skins.

Parliament of Ghana said the committee "emphasised the need for stronger policy and regulatory measures in line with African Union and ECOWAS commitments, including enhanced border enforcement, local breeding programmes and support for donkey farmers."

It said members "reaffirmed their commitment to protecting Ghana's donkey population, safeguarding rural livelihoods and preventing the possible extinction of the species."

3News reported in 2024 that demand for hide and meat was already pushing donkeys towards local extinction. In the Upper West, the regional veterinary director said a 2023 census had counted 2,492 animals.

What the committee was told

"Information shared around the table needs immediate action, because there's a threat of extinction of donkey species — and that will be dangerous for our livelihoods and the sustainability of our local economic development," Jasaw told the meeting, Metro TV reported.

He said donkeys remain essential in the Upper East and North East, for farming, transport and household work. In Sissala West, 3News found donkey carts still carrying water, firewood and farm goods, and residents warning that the skin trade was using up the herds.

He said the African Union's 2024 framework urges states to legislate a ban on killing donkeys for skins for export, and that demand from China had reached animals in Ghana.

"One gap realized from the conversation is enforcement of even existing legislations, and we think enforcement is a function of information, so capacity building is required."

Emmanuel Sarr, Brooke West Africa's regional director, said African countries must stop the trade. He said ejiao, made from donkey hides, requires about six million donkeys a year.

Togo, Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso already ban the practice, he said, and Burkina Faso has written it into its criminal law. Traffickers, he added, use Ghana's weak rules despite an ECOWAS strategy to protect donkeys by 2030.

Brooke has offered to train Ghana Revenue Authority customs officers and staff of the Animal Production Department.

A 2017 directive and the continental moratorium

On January 17, 2017, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture authorised a ban on the slaughter of donkeys for their skins and on the export of those skins, The Donkey Sanctuary reported.

The Veterinary Services Directorate said slaughter, especially in the north, could deplete the population within two to three years, and ordered regional veterinary officers to enforce the directive.

A Brooke review of the trade after the continental moratorium groups Ghana with countries that have suspended slaughterhouse licences by ministerial order, not with those that have passed a permanent ban. Jasaw said the laws are fragmented and that rules under the Veterinary Services law need to be strengthened.

On February 18, 2024, heads of state at the 37th African Union summit in Addis Ababa agreed to ban the slaughter of donkeys for their skins. The Donkey Sanctuary estimates that at least 5.9 million donkeys are slaughtered worldwide each year for ejiao.

The December 2022 Dar es Salaam declaration had called for a continental ban of at least 15 years.

What Parliament says should come next

Parliament said the meeting should inform action against the illegal skin trade and for sustainable management of Ghana's donkeys.

Jasaw wants the scattered laws brought together, officers trained to enforce them, and national policy aligned with the African Union and ECOWAS.

Araba IncoomAraba Incoom writes on multiple topics with a vast knowledge across different sector. You can almost call me an AI, after all, my initials are Araba Incoom.

Donkey skins: agriculture committee seeks tougher rules to avert extinction

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