China Africa Donkeys -- WEB
Metadata
- China Africa Donkeys -- WEB
- July 8, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English China Africa Donkeys (TV) HEADLINE: Africa’s Donkeys Are Being Stolen for Chinese Medicine TEASER: China uses millions of donkey skins a year to make a tonic, but its insatiable appetite for the product is fueling an illegal trade that’s causing Africa’s donkey populations to drop, negatively impacting communities. PUBLISHED AT: 7/8/2022 at 10:10am BYLINE: Kate Bartlett WRITER: Kate Bartlett VIDEOGRAPHER: Zaheer Cassim DATELINE: Johannesburg, South Africa SCRIPT EDITORS: ELee, Bowman TRT: 3:05 VIDEO APPROVED BY: wpm PLATFORMS (mark with X): Web_X_ Radio_ X_ TV_ X_ EDITOR NOTES: There are companion Web and Radio versions [[INTRO]] Donkeys -- you might think they are ubiquitous, but for many in rural Africa they’re a lifeline. Now some countries are worried they could even become extinct. Donkey skins are used to make ejiao, a traditional medicine popular in China, and local criminal gangs are stealing and brutally butchering millions of them to meet demand. Kate Bartlett reports from Johannesburg. ((NARRATOR)) Oscar and Presley are two lucky donkeys. They were being smuggled and destined for slaughter, but authorities intercepted the truck they were in and saved them from a cruel death. ((Sue Davis-Clark, Adopted Oscar and Presley)), (English, 7 sec)) “They’re stubborn but they’re very forgiving and they’re very loving. If you’re having a bad day the best thing to do is cuddle a donkey.” ((NARRATOR)) Oscar and Presley now spend their days relaxing in this field in South Africa. But not all donkeys in this part of the world are so fortunate. ((mandatory cg: The Donkey Sanctuary)) ((VIDEO- footage courtesy of The Donkey Sanctuary)) It all started a few years ago when, unable to farm the five million donkeys needed annually to make a traditional medicine known as ejiao, China started looking for the animals elsewhere, says Simon Pope, who works at British charity the Donkey Sanctuary. ((End Courtesy)) ((Simon Pope, Donkey Sanctuary Researcher, (English, 22 sec)) “China effectively had to go out to the world to try find supply to meet this massive demand for ejiao. And that meant going to places where donkeys were quite common, and inevitably that’s Africa where for centuries they’ve been used as a beast of burden.” ((mandatory cg: “The Donkey Sanctuary”)) ((NARRATOR)) While some in Africa were willing to sell their animals, others were not, so local criminal gangs began to steal donkeys. Experts say the donkeys are often killed in the most brutal way, usually knocked out with a hammer, and are sometimes even still alive when they are skinned. The Donkey Sanctuary estimates some 1.5 million of these animals are being stolen each year for their skins. ((End Courtesy)) ((VIDEO-VOA: shots of Francis feeding donkeys, putting their blankets on, tight shot of donkey before going to SOT)) But Francis Nkosi, a groom who looks after rescued donkeys, says these animals are often an important part of life for many rural Africans. ((Francis Nkosi, Groom, (English, 9 sec)) “If people get sick sometimes, we don’t have a car. We don’t have a transport. You can use the donkeys to transport some people to the hospital.” ((NARRATOR)) Grace de Lange, an investigator with the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in South Africa, says stolen donkeys are now being smuggled into the tiny landlocked kingdom of Lesotho, where they are killed before being sent to China. ((Grace De Lange, NSPCA)) (English, 19 sec)) “We’re finding a lot of the trade is going from South Africa into Lesotho. We are not sure exactly what the link is and how they are getting it out, maybe easier from Lesotho. We’ve had meetings with (the) government in Lesotho, and they’re also investigating. So obviously it’s used -- it’s going to the Chinese market.” ((mandatory cg: “NSPCA”)) ((NARRATOR))((VIDEO-VOA: photos courtesy of NSPCA)) A new investigation by the Donkey Sanctury and researchers at the University of Oxford found in May that the illegal trade also acts as a conduit for the smuggling of critically endangered wildlife. Pangolin scales, ivory and abalone have all been found hidden in shipments of donkey skins, as have illicit drugs. Pope says some African countries are now fighting back. Tanzania announced a ban last month, saying its donkeys were at risk of extinction. ((Simon Pope, Donkey Sanctuary Researcher, (English, 4 sec)) “What we’re beginning to see now is a much more of a concerted pushback.” ((NARRATOR)) But Africa’s donkeys will continue to be at risk of being targeted by criminal enterprises as long as there is demand for ejiao in China. ((Kate Bartlett, for VOA News, Johannesburg))
- Transcript/Script China Africa Donkeys (TV) HEADLINE: Africa’s Donkeys Are Being Stolen for Chinese Medicine TEASER: China uses millions of donkey skins a year to make a tonic, but its insatiable appetite for the product is fueling an illegal trade that’s causing Africa’s donkey populations to drop, negatively impacting communities. PUBLISHED AT: 7/8/2022 at 10:10am BYLINE: Kate Bartlett WRITER: Kate Bartlett VIDEOGRAPHER: Zaheer Cassim DATELINE: Johannesburg, South Africa SCRIPT EDITORS: ELee, Bowman TRT: 3:05 VIDEO APPROVED BY: wpm PLATFORMS (mark with X): Web_X_ Radio_ X_ TV_ X_ EDITOR NOTES: There are companion Web and Radio versions [[INTRO]] Donkeys -- you might think they are ubiquitous, but for many in rural Africa they’re a lifeline. Now some countries are worried they could even become extinct. Donkey skins are used to make ejiao, a traditional medicine popular in China, and local criminal gangs are stealing and brutally butchering millions of them to meet demand. Kate Bartlett reports from Johannesburg. ((NARRATOR)) Oscar and Presley are two lucky donkeys. They were being smuggled and destined for slaughter, but authorities intercepted the truck they were in and saved them from a cruel death. ((Sue Davis-Clark, Adopted Oscar and Presley)), (English, 7 sec)) “They’re stubborn but they’re very forgiving and they’re very loving. If you’re having a bad day the best thing to do is cuddle a donkey.” ((NARRATOR)) Oscar and Presley now spend their days relaxing in this field in South Africa. But not all donkeys in this part of the world are so fortunate. ((mandatory cg: The Donkey Sanctuary)) ((VIDEO- footage courtesy of The Donkey Sanctuary)) It all started a few years ago when, unable to farm the five million donkeys needed annually to make a traditional medicine known as ejiao, China started looking for the animals elsewhere, says Simon Pope, who works at British charity the Donkey Sanctuary. ((End Courtesy)) ((Simon Pope, Donkey Sanctuary Researcher, (English, 22 sec)) “China effectively had to go out to the world to try find supply to meet this massive demand for ejiao. And that meant going to places where donkeys were quite common, and inevitably that’s Africa where for centuries they’ve been used as a beast of burden.” ((mandatory cg: “The Donkey Sanctuary”)) ((NARRATOR)) While some in Africa were willing to sell their animals, others were not, so local criminal gangs began to steal donkeys. Experts say the donkeys are often killed in the most brutal way, usually knocked out with a hammer, and are sometimes even still alive when they are skinned. The Donkey Sanctuary estimates some 1.5 million of these animals are being stolen each year for their skins. ((End Courtesy)) ((VIDEO-VOA: shots of Francis feeding donkeys, putting their blankets on, tight shot of donkey before going to SOT)) But Francis Nkosi, a groom who looks after rescued donkeys, says these animals are often an important part of life for many rural Africans. ((Francis Nkosi, Groom, (English, 9 sec)) “If people get sick sometimes, we don’t have a car. We don’t have a transport. You can use the donkeys to transport some people to the hospital.” ((NARRATOR)) Grace de Lange, an investigator with the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in South Africa, says stolen donkeys are now being smuggled into the tiny landlocked kingdom of Lesotho, where they are killed before being sent to China. ((Grace De Lange, NSPCA)) (English, 19 sec)) “We’re finding a lot of the trade is going from South Africa into Lesotho. We are not sure exactly what the link is and how they are getting it out, maybe easier from Lesotho. We’ve had meetings with (the) government in Lesotho, and they’re also investigating. So obviously it’s used -- it’s going to the Chinese market.” ((mandatory cg: “NSPCA”)) ((NARRATOR))((VIDEO-VOA: photos courtesy of NSPCA)) A new investigation by the Donkey Sanctury and researchers at the University of Oxford found in May that the illegal trade also acts as a conduit for the smuggling of critically endangered wildlife. Pangolin scales, ivory and abalone have all been found hidden in shipments of donkey skins, as have illicit drugs. Pope says some African countries are now fighting back. Tanzania announced a ban last month, saying its donkeys were at risk of extinction. ((Simon Pope, Donkey Sanctuary Researcher, (English, 4 sec)) “What we’re beginning to see now is a much more of a concerted pushback.” ((NARRATOR)) But Africa’s donkeys will continue to be at risk of being targeted by criminal enterprises as long as there is demand for ejiao in China. ((Kate Bartlett, for VOA News, Johannesburg))
- NewsML Media Topics Economy, Business and Finance
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date July 8, 2022 19:00 EDT
- Description English Donkeys -- you might think they are ubiquitous, but for many in rural Africa they’re a lifeline. Now some countries are worried they could even become extinct. Donkey skins are used to make ejiao, a traditional medicine popular in China, and local criminal gangs are stealing and brutally butchering millions of them to meet demand. Kate Bartlett reports from Johannesburg.
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English