CROSS-BORDER Traders’ Association (ZCBTA) president Killer Zivhu has urged his members to embrace donkey meat business and make maximum use of an abattoir recently constructed in Bulawayo by Battlefront Investments.
BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
Zivhu said donkey meat trading would go a long way in alleviating poverty mainly among rural traders, while bringing in the much-needed forex into the country.
“In all the projects that we are doing, we need to promote exports and now that we have a donkey abattoir, it was in our plans to export goat meat and beef, but because of constraints which are involved in licensing, we have decided to take advantage of the abattoir that is in existence,” he said.
“When we supply donkeys, that meat and skin can be taken for export, so we are encouraging all the cross-border traders, especially those who are in rural areas as we are starting a new project of keeping donkeys.”
Zivhu acknowledged that the population of donkeys in the country was too little, but said there was need for investment in donkeys.
“People have not been worried about donkeys due to limited market and less purpose, so now that there is market outside Zimbabwe we want our people to start this business as soon as yesterday mainly in Matabeleland region.”
However, there has been outrage over the construction of the $150 000 state-of-the-art donkey abattoir from animal rights groups, who argue that the act will be cruel and unconstitutional.
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The abattoir will have a capacity of slaughtering 70 animals per day against a population of 150 000 donkeys throughout the country.
The conservationists fear that vulnerable rural farmers may benefit from the short-term sale of their donkeys, while unaware of the long-term consequences which include of theft.
In response to such fears, Battlefront Investment businessman Garrith Lumsden assured the public that he would not be accepting deliveries from private donkey suppliers.
