AFRICA: Suffering Donkeys Of Africa Being Hunted For Export To China For Chinese Traditional Medicine

The rapidly evolving relationship between China and Africa has attractive benefits to investors. However, there are devastating unintended consequences. Consideration must be given to the needs of poor people and their essential livestock.

Irrespective of whether or not people agree with the use of donkey products, it is vital that the welfare of donkeys involved is properly addressed. International Brooke teams are working together and collaborating with governments and other stakeholders to tackle this issue.

Petra Ingram, Chief Executive of Brooke said:

“The effect we’re seeing on the African donkey population is proving even greater than we originally feared. Alarming reports have been coming in from Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa, and it’s clear that it is affecting the people who rely on donkeys to support their livelihoods.

“The suffering taking place is stark, and it is unacceptable. We are against all these illegal activities, and are taking steps to do everything in our power to prevent it. We have already funded a study looking at new slaughterhouses in Kenya, and are waiting for the results. This will help us to better understand the issue.

“Brooke strongly believes that the lifetime value of donkeys in their contribution to community livelihoods is worth more than being sold for their meat or hides. In taking away someone’s donkey, it can mean taking away their means of making a living, potentially for a dangerously long time.

Brooke is working on a country by country basis, with national governments and donkey owning communities as they struggle to protect the welfare of donkeys and people’s livelihoods in the face of this growing challenge.

We have funded a study carried out by an organisation called GardenVet in Kenya. They have documented the impact of the donkey trade and slaughter process on donkey welfare in Kenya and to identify areas that need improvement to conform to donkey welfare best practices. The full results are expected soon, and will help us decide on what the next steps should be.

On 29 March, Brooke East Africa organised a national workshop and talks in Kenya to deliberate on donkey slaughter, its impact to animals and communities, and the best way of tackling the challenges.

Over 60 delegates attended, and they presented research on the issues. The team secured commitments from the government, other animal welfare organisations and community members on what can be done to minimise the negative impacts of the trade.

On Wednesday, 26 April, Samuel Theuri, Advocacy Officer from Brooke East Africa presented at The Kenya Veterinary Association’s (KVA) annual conference, this year celebrating 50 years of Veterinary Contribution to Sustainable Livelihoods and growth in developing economies.

This conference brings together animal health professionals to discuss the latest news and research.

One of the big subjects at the conference was the issue of donkey skin export, and the increase in theft of donkeys for their hides.

Samuel reported that Brooke East Africa and partners have found that almost 1000 donkeys have been stolen across Kenya between December 2016 and April 2017, and it’s likely that the slaughter methods used are extremely distressing for the donkeys and not welfare friendly.

As well as the obvious impact on the donkeys, this is also leaving many owners suddenly without the animal they need most for earning a living. A donkey helps an owner earn the equivalent of £4-£10, and it’s estimated that donkeys provide the equivalent of £3.7m in contribution to the economy.

Samuel also explained that because of the demand, donkeys have doubled in price, from 7,000 Kenyan Shillings in 2014 to 15, 000 in 2017 making them unaffordable to those who lose their donkey.

To date, the trade of donkeys for their hides is banned in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. Last week an abattoir in Ethiopia was closed down by local authorities.

A major concern however is that trade continues on the black market and there is increased trade in other African countries.

Brooke as a whole continues to monitor this global issue and is working with its teams across Asia and Africa. We are listening and learning from owners and users and supporting them to protect their donkeys and in turn their livelihoods.

Brooke has championed the essential role of donkeys in poor people’s livelihoods. We recently made a submission highlighting the impact of the donkey skin trade to the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS) High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE), after they called a public enquiry looking at Critical and Emerging Issues for Food Security and Nutrition. Previous to this, our Advocacy team had already succeeded in having working equines' contributions to food security and nutrition officially recognised in livestock recommendations formally endorsed by the CFS.

Our submission was accepted and the CFS has now published the results of their enquiry. We're pleased that this issue has been acknowledged and incorporated into the findings, and are looking forward to when it's presented during the the annual Plenary Session of the CFS, in October 2017.

We were supported by the governments of Senegal and Kenya, as well as the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the U.N. We have also ensured that the donkey hide trade is included in the Emerging and Critical Issues Consultation by the CFS High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE).

In low and middle-income countries all over the world, working donkeys, horses and mules support people and industries in a variety of settings: from subsistence smallholders to the urban poor. They enable families access to food and healthcare and help keep children in education.

They offer women financial independence and relief from the drudgery of daily chores. They work alongside their owners in some of the most exploitative and treacherous environments such as brick kilns, construction sites and mines. They bring their owners respect and appreciation within their communities.

Despite their essential role in supporting the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, working animals are virtually invisible in development policy and programming.

This means their needs do not feature in livestock related intervention and policies. For example, equine drugs are often not available, health professionals are not trained in equine health and livestock vaccination campaigns do not extend to working equids. This is detrimental to animals as well as to the people who rely on them.

IVORY COAST: Ivory Coast Struggles To Promote Tourism After Terror Attack

An Ivorian soldier stands guard on March 18, 2016 at the site of a jihadist shooting rampage at the beach resort of Grand Bassam.

It's exactly a week since al-Qaida gunmen opened fire indiscriminately on swimmers and diners last Sunday at a popular beachfront weekend getaway in Grand Bassam, the historic former capital of Ivory Coast.

Bassam, as the sleepy, pretty town is known, is a short 25-mile ride from the economic capital and main city, Abidjan. Bassam is much favored by local families and visitors, including children of all ages.

March 13 was a lazy, sweltering Sunday, as swimmers frolicked in the warm Atlantic Ocean waters, sunbathers enjoyed a day outdoors, and visitors and tourists sat down for lunch at hotels and restaurants overlooking the sea.

That's when al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, by its own admission, claims its black balaclava-clad militants, toting heavy weapons, first sprayed the palm-fringed beach. They fired in and out of the water before turning their weapons from the beach to the diners.

At least 19 Ivorians and foreigners were killed in the carnage. One body, with a bullet to the head, washed up midweek, fueling concern that others may follow.

The deadly assault on Grand Bassam was the third in five months in West Africa on a former French colony. Mali's capital Bamako was first in November, with a siege on the Radisson Blu Hotel, favored by foreigners. Then the January siege in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, on the Splendid Hotel and Cappuccino cafe. Foreigners were among the 20 people killed in Bamako and 30 killed in Ouagadougou.

Analysts argue that Ivory Coast could have become the latest target of al-Qaida's regional franchise, in retaliation for the country's close relations with Paris. France intervened militarily in neighboring Mali in 2013, leading an offensive to dislodge extremist fighters who had occupied the north for about a year.

France retains a military presence in all three countries, with an army and air force base on the outskirts of Abidjan.

Officials Seek Stability

Now Grand Bassam's Etoile du Sud hotel and other beach side establishments have become the targets and Ivory Coast is reeling. This country, once an oasis of peace, security, stability and prosperity, is emerging from a devastating decade of political violence and a civil war. The economy was on the rebound.

The tourist industry is worried.

President Alassane Ouattara hastened to reassure his compatriots, expatriates and Ivory Coast's international partners and investors. On Wednesday, he took his entire team to Grand Bassam for their weekly cabinet meeting — in solidarity, the president said.

"We came to show our sympathy, our compassion to the victims. To their memory, to the families of the victims," Ouattara said.

"To show that Côte d'Ivoire will never forget them and that it's important for life to continue." Though he added, "Although we are mourning, we want everyone to know that Côte d'Ivoire is united and that Côte d'Ivoire remains a land of hospitality."

Earlier, Ouattara said Ivorians should not be intimidated by the attacks perpetrated by "cowardly terrorists" and that such actions would not be tolerated. After laying a wreath outside the Etoile du Sud hotel Wednesday, he said Ivory Coast would not allow terrorists to sabotage the country's economic recovery.

Over the past five years, Ivory Coast — the world's top cocoa producer — has seen record growth and foreign investment. Tourism was also picking up.

Commerce minister Jean-Louis Billon says he doesn't want to overstate the threat to the tourist industry posed by the militant attack.

"Of course we're worried," he says. "But, if you look at countries like Kenya or Tanzania, they have been affected in the past and investors didn't leave the country because of terrorism."

Billon says it's a collective battle. "No one is safe against terrorism. But we need our growth to develop our country and we won't stop our development because of terrorism." He says Ivory Coast refuses to give ground "to those who want the economy to collapse, because that's what they're looking for."

Investors Remain Confident

As if to bolster that confidence, potential investors from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce happened to be on a scheduled visit to Ivory Coast just when al-Qaida struck in the deadly assault.

The chamber's executive vice president, Myron Brilliant, said the attacks have not put them off. "In no way will that deter our investment and trade relations here in Côte d'Ivoire," he said.

"If anything, we feel very close to Côte d'Ivoire," he said, "because we have suffered our own attacks in our country, in the United States. And so we understand what's going on here, we understand the significance of it."

Brilliant addressed journalists after talks this past week with the Ivorian president and cabinet ministers on his organisation's wish to promote deeper investment and commercial ties between the U.S. and Ivory Coast.

He talked about expanding in areas such as energy, agrifood business, education, healthcare, travel and tourism. "There is a great need, a great opportunity for U.S. companies here in Côte d'Ivoire," Brilliant said.

Fighting talk.

The same has come from Ivory Coast's government, which has shifted up a gear and is full speed ahead after last Sunday's al-Qaida onslaught. The government has announced almost $1 million in immediate assistance to the hotel and transport industries in Grand Bassam, as well as craftsmen and other local businesses hard hit by the attacks.

The authorities have also promised to beef up security, with patrols already in place up and down the 10-mile stretch of Bassam's beachfront and beyond.

Security reinforcements were trucked in as VIP visitors, including presidents and top officials from neighboring West African countries and from the former colonial power, France, drove to Grand Bassam to lay wreaths in memory of those who perished.

An Economy Driven By Tourism

The charming town of coconut palms swaying in the Atlantic ocean breeze and elegant, wooden colonial houses, relies heavily on tourism – local and international. UNESCO, the U.N.'s education, scientific and cultural agency, has designated Grand Bassam a world heritage site.

The government's new security measures and assistance are cold comfort for Sylvie Kouao, although she thanked the president. Her beach restaurant — right by where the gunmen indiscriminately opened fire on adults and children — remains shut.

Kouao, 40, says they had to take cover, as terrified civilians were fleeing and dodging bullets. She has nightmares and is still trying to come to terms with the shock. What's most troubling, says Kouao, is that a male cousin is still missing. They haven't found him in or out of the water.

Clutching the hand of her 9-year-old son, Amadou, and stretching her other hand toward the almost-deserted beach, Kouao tells NPR that "life in Bassam is paralyzed. It has come to a standstill."

"But we can't just give up," she adds. "We have to stand up. We must not be fearful. We must have courage that life will return to normal."

Security forces camp in plastic chairs in front of Kouao's restaurant. Opposite is a makeshift memorial, covered in wreaths. Young men stand around in the shade by the beach, under a marquee erected for VIPs and other visitors who continue to pay their respects.

Among the locals with little to do is Abou Lavisse Decky, leader of the local Bassamois musical group, Akanzou. Decky and his fellow singers strike up, a cappella, as mourners approach a growing collection of wreaths.

Just a week ago, the singers were serenading diners and entertaining tourists up and down the stretch of seaside restaurants and hotels. Such activities came to an abrupt end during the attacks.

Now they're singing lyrics denouncing terrorism. "Non au terrorisme" — "no to terrorism" and "the attacks have robbed us of our jobs." Decky says, "I come here to sing today for the memory of the people who died. I sing for them, because terrorism is a bad thing."

As the group sings, "yako!" which simultaneously means "sorry" and "courage," Decky implores Ivorians and foreigners to take heart, have courage and return to Grand Bassam.

Pointing to the empty beachfront, Decky tells NPR, "If the beach is closed, the economy of Grand Bassam is closed. I will come back to sing with my group. It's my job, it's my job," he repeats in desperation. "I haven't another job. So if I don't come to sing, how can I have money to eat?"

MALI: West Africa's Lost Treasure Suffering From Terrorist Attack Again.

“West Africa’s lost treasure,” is how the overland company, Dragoman, describes Mali. For World Music aficionados, it is one of the richest countries in the world, with creativity flowing as powerfully as the Niger River.

In normal circumstances thousands of British travellers would now be flying south to engage with Mali’s imperial history, wild terrain and diverse wildlife - many of them heading for Timbuktu, an ancient seat of learning.

But these are not normal times, and the northern border with Algeria has proved a porous route for warriors and weapons.

The latest Lonely Planet guide to West Africa devotes just four pages to a country five times bigger than Britain, saying: “Its landscapes, monuments, mosques and music bars are off-limits, sealed from tourists by a conflict that is threatening the culture of this remarkable country."

Even before the bloody events in the capital, Bamako, Mali was on the Foreign Office danger list.

“Maintain several days’ stock of food and water in case disturbances take place,” recommends the Foreign Office. “There is a high threat from terrorism, including kidnap.”

The north of Mali receives the most stringent FCO warning, “Avoid all travel,” because of a wave of jihadist terrorism. As this murderous attack shows, the horrors are spreading south.

For West Africa’s travel industry - which for the most part is embryonic - the Bamako assault will only spread the tourism blight that haunts the region. Ghana attracts discerning travellers, and Senegal and The Gambia are well prepared for sunseeking French and British holidaymakers. But the tone of much of media coverage of the Ebola crisis triggered unfounded fears among many prospective visitors - which spread even as far as the Cape Verde Islands, 350 miles off the coast of the African mainland.

In the immediate future, West Africa’s treasures will remain a secret. But as the new-found popularity of formerly war-torn countries such as Nicaragua and Vietnam shows, tourism can form an important part of a nation’s recovery.

How Tourism Is Ruining Everything

One billion tourists now roam the planet—and the world’s most pristine spots are showing the strain. In the new film ‘Gringo Trails,’ the consequences of unchecked global wanderlust.

Twenty years ago, when I first visited the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, it was already one of Mexico’s most popular attractions. Though a fair amount of visitors roamed the grounds, the atmosphere was mellow, respectful of the site’s history, and vendors were at a minimum.

That was then. On a trip there this year, tour buses stretched almost a mile down the road, its big parking lot overflowing. The entrance had been turned into a kitschy Mayan shopping mall, full of cheap restaurants, jewelry stores, and T-shirts featuring drawings of bodacious—and totally mythical—Indian princesses prancing around in next to nothing.

The pyramids were still spectacular, but you can’t climb them—they’ve been closed since an Italian tourist fell off one and died. Vendors were everywhere selling sweatshop tchotchkes. And tourist hordes had trampled all the grass, so the huge area of loose dirt that was left became choking dust with even the slightest breeze.

Chichen Itza had become an ethnic Disneyland—a monument to the kind of touristic overdevelopment that is the subject of Gringo Trails, a new film out on DVD and VOD on Nov. 17. Although director Pegi Vail’s documentary concentrates on backpacker culture and how it has hurt pristine sites around the world, the stories it tells can also be applied to spots that have already fallen to the tourist industrial complex. Spanning from Bolivia and Mali to Bhutan, Vail shows how unplanned development can turn formerly exotic spots into developing-world dumps—the ultimate horror story being Ko Pha-Ngan, a once-unspoiled Thai beach that has become home to a yearly “full moon party” that attracts upward of 30,000 revelers who leave the place looking like a New Jersey landfill.

“We’re one billion on the road right now,” says Vail. “This industry is huge. It’s estimated one in 11 people in the world have jobs related to tourism. The idea now is the planning ahead. If there’s no plan anywhere, you’ll have a museumization, like Venice, or a Disneyfication.”

“In ‘undiscovered’ places, tourism is a huge lure, and so people see it as quick, easy money,” “So they go ahead and build, build, build. It often happens they don’t do so with a long-term vision, and that’s where the problem lies.”

Travel journalist Rolf Potts, author of the wanderlust how-to book Vagabonding, notes that destination tourism seems to progress in stages. It begins, he says, “with an ‘undiscovered’—to mainstream outsiders—place known to a handful of backpackers and expats, which then becomes a ‘scene’ for bigger numbers of independent travelers, and eventually becomes developed for a larger demographic of mass tourism. How exactly that economic development happens is what makes a difference.”

Whether or not the locals have a say in the process, and how much of a say, can go a long way toward determining whether the location will have a few cool eco-lodges, or the latest outlet of the Señor Frog’s restaurant chain.

Getting tourists—the vast majority of whom are middle- or upper-middle-class travelers—to care if the place they’re headed to will soon become another Margaritaville is, however, another matter. The problem is not one of first-world arrogance, but ignorance.

“There’s an ignorance in understanding our impact,” says sustainable-tourism advocate Costas Christ. “By and large, people are generally well intentioned and want to have a positive impact. But I think a lot of them are ignorant about how their behavior impacts places negatively.”

“Oftentimes people are less sensitive when they don’t have to be, when they’re not told they have to be,” says Vail. “Learning culturally what’s happening in a place, which is easy to do, I think that’s happening more and more. There are responsible and irresponsible [travelers] at every level.”

Vail’s film is particularly effective when it shows the yin and yang of the tourism process. Incahuasi, for example, an isolated Bolivian island situated in the middle of the world’s largest salt flat, was practically unknown to the outside world until the locals decided to promote tourism. Now it attracts 300 to 400 tourists a day, and the residents are regretting it. They’re disturbed by overbuilding, garbage disposal, how vehicles coming to the island have altered the landscape, and how some local animals have been scared away by the tourist boom. “We have deteriorated the natural look of the island,” says one local.

One Bolivian island was practically unknown to the outside world until the locals decided to promote tourism. Now it attracts 300 to 400 tourists a day, and the residents are regretting it.

At the other end of the spectrum is Bhutan, a country which only opened up for tourism in 1974, and pursues what it calls a “high value, low impact” policy.

Concerned by travel overkill in nearby Nepal, the Himalayan kingdom offers all-inclusive, eco-friendly group packages ranging from $200 to $250 per day. The government approves all housing for tourists, and the day rate includes a “royalty” of $65, which goes toward free education, health care, poverty reduction, and new infrastructure. So far, it’s been attracting an older, richer, and more eco-conscious tourist trade.

There are plenty of other far-sighted places. Christ points to Plancencia, Belize, where locals and the government have partnered to protect the local barrier reef, the world’s third largest. And Tasmania, which has a master plan to protect the island’s largest rain forest

FRANCE: Aigle Azur

An Airbus A320 in the airline's new livery landing at Toulouse Blagnac International Airport

Société Aigle Azur Transports Aériens is an airline with its head office in Tremblay-en-France, France, near Paris. It operates domestic scheduled passenger services and international services to Algeria, Mali, Portugal, China, Senegal and France. It also operates charter, cargo and wet lease services. Its main bases are Orly Airport, Paris. Aigle Azur is also accredited by IATA with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) for its safety practices.

In April 1946, Sylvain Floirat established the original Aigle Azur as one of the first wholly privately-owned, independent airlines in post-war France. Between 1946 and 1955, the airline operated a large fleet of Douglas DC-3s.

During the early 1950s, Aigle Azur began operating long-haul scheduled routes linking metropolitan France with Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. France's Ministry of Public Works and Transport had transferred Air France's traffic rights for these routes to the country's newly created independent airlines, including Aigle Azur.

In 1970, the airline was re-constituted as a regional airline named Lucas Aviation. The re-formed airline's corporate and operational headquarters was at Paris Pontoise Airport,located in Boissy l'Aillerie.Lucas Aviation initially traded as Lucas Air Transport and operated regional scheduled services, including a year-round operation linking Deauville with London Gatwick. The name subsequently changed once more to Lucas Aigle Azur.

An Airbus A320 in the airline's new livery landed at Toulouse Blagnac International Airport,September 2013.

In May 2001, Groupe GOFAST acquired Lucas Aigle Azur from its previous owners, and reinstated the original name, Aigle Azur. The new owner refocused the airline as a mainstream short- to medium-haul scheduled and charter carrier. Aigle Azur began replacing its Boeing 737s with Airbus A320 family aircraft. It has 450 employees as of May 2007. A plane operated by Aigle Azur landed in Baghdad on 31-10-2010, becoming the first flight from a European airline to arrive in the city since the twenty-year-old international embargo began in 1990.

On 23 October 2012, HNA Group announced that it completed its acquisition of a 48 percent stake in Aigle Azur in Paris, becoming its second largest shareholder, after Group GOFAST.

In December 2012, Goldenflyer awarded the airline for "Best Cabin crew".

The airline's administrative head office is in Tremblay-en-France, near Paris. The airline's registered office is in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris.

The majority of Aigle Azur's international flights are to Africa and Europe (Algeria, France, Senegal, Mali, China and Portugal).

Aigle Azur has codeshare agreements with the following airlines as of March 2015:

Hainan Airlines

The fleet of Aigle Azur with Airbus A320-family (A319, A320), modular mono-class or bi-class.

There were several hull-loss accidents involving Aigle Azur aircraft between 1949 and 1954, most of which took place in French Indochina, today's Laos or Vietnam.

On 27 November 1949, an Aigle Azur Douglas C-47 Skytrain (registered F-OABJ) was shot down in a criminal occurrence near Dong Khe, where a major battle in the First Indochina War would take place 10 months later.
On 9 July 1950, an Aigle Azur Douglas C-47 Skytrain (registered F-BFGL) crashed shortly after take-off from Casablanca (then in France), resulting in the 18 passengers and 4 crew members on board being killed.
On 12 February 1951, another Aigle Azur Skytrain (registered F-OABK) was damaged beyond repair in a crash landing at Luang Prabang Airport (in today's Laos, then French Indochina). There were no fatalities.
On 17 March 1953, an Aigle Azur Douglas C-47 Skytrain (registered F-BEFG) crashed during a bad-weather landing attempt at Da Nang Airport following a flight from Hue-Phu Bai Airport, resulting in the death of the eight persons on board.
On 16 April 1953, another Aigle Azur C-47 (registered F-BESS) lost one wing shortly after take-off from Hanoi on a military charter flight to Nà Sản Airport. The aircraft subsequently crashed, and the 27 passengers and 3 crew members on board died.
On 19 June 1953 an Aigle Azur Douglas C-47 (registered F-BEST) crashed into a hill after a fire started on board, killing the 29 passengers and 5 crew members (which makes it the deadliest accident of the airline to date). The aircraft was en route from Vientiane Airport to Saigon Airport. The wreckage could only be found ten days later.
On 31 January 1954, the pilots of an Aigle Azur Skytrain (registered F-BGXD) which was due to operate a flight out of Dien Bien Phu Airport accidentally retracted the landing gear when the aircraft had not taken off yet, resulting in the airframe being damaged beyond repair.
On 4 March 1954, during the First Indochina War, at around 04:00 local time, an Aigle Azur Douglas DC-3 (registered F-OAPC) that was parked at Gia Lam Airport, Hanoi, was destroyed by Vietnamese rebels.
On 30 August 1954, an Aigle Azur Sud-Ouest Bretagne (registered F-BEHS) was damaged beyond repair during an emergency landing at Hanoi.

Recently, there was only one (non-fatal) incident involving an Aigle Azur aircraft:

On 8 January 2008 at 08:51 local time, an Aigle Azur Airbus A321-200 (registered F-GUAA) that was operating on Flight 258 from Paris-Orly Airport to Algiers Airport, was substantially damaged during a hard landing and subsequent tailstrike at its destination airport, during which a two-metre-long fuselage gash occurred. This was due to a faulty handling of the thrust lever by the commanding pilot who was sitting in the right seat instead of the usual left one he was accustomed to. There were no serious injuries to the 59 passengers and 8 crew members on board, and the aircraft was reparable.