International animal welfare charity, The Donkey Sanctuary, has joined forces with Emirates to highlight the risks posed by the transportation of donkey skins in air cargo.
Working together, The Donkey Sanctuary and Emirates have co-created the Aviation Risk and Threat Assessment operational guide to highlight the risks posed by the donkey skin trade and its association with serious and organised criminal activity.
According to The Donkey Sanctuary’s latest figures, six million donkeys are killed for their skins each year, the majority in Africa. These skins are then exported across the world, by ship and by air, before being used to make traditional medicine and remedies.
In research by The Donkey Sanctuary and the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School and Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), significant evidence exposed the link between the movement of donkey skins with other illegal wildlife trafficking and organised crime. The unregulated and unhygienic skin trade also poses a serious threat to global biosecurity.
Emirates has already implemented a ban on the carriage of donkey hides. The airline extended its zero-tolerance policy on the carriage of banned species, hunting trophies and other associated products, to include donkey hides and parts.
Already a leader in efforts to combat the illegal wildlife trade, the airline has established stringent protocols including screening, spot checks during transit, in depth document verification, and confirming the authenticity of permits; in addition to providing education and training for its employees across cargo and passenger operations to identify and report smuggled wildlife.
