Donkey Slaughter in Brazil: A Regulated Production System or Extractive Model?

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Animal Welfare Science
• Agricultural Economics

Background:

• Donkeys historically served as vital draft and transport animals.
• Mechanization reduced their economic role, leading to exploitation for industries like ejiao production.
• Unregulated donkey slaughter in Brazil raises significant animal welfare concerns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the donkey slaughter production system in Brazil.
• To identify systemic failures impacting animal welfare through physical and hematological assessments.
• To assess the health status of donkeys intended for slaughter.

Main Methods:

• Conducted physical assessments on 104 abandoned donkeys, including sex determination, age estimation, body condition score (BCS), and neck condition score.
• Performed hematological assessments measuring hematocrit (HT), total plasma protein (TPP), and plasma fibrinogen concentration.
• Analyzed data to characterize the health and welfare of the study group.

Main Results:

• The majority of donkeys were entire males (48.08%) with a median age of 15.1 years.
• Most animals presented a low body condition score (2 or 3; 52%) and neck condition score (1; 37.5%).
• Hematological results indicated altered plasma fibrinogen (>400 mg/dL) and total plasma protein (<7.5 g/dL), suggesting malnutrition and systemic inflammation.

Conclusions:

• Donkeys in the Brazilian slaughter chain exhibit poor health, characterized by malnutrition and systemic inflammation.
• The current donkey production system appears to operate as an unsustainable extractive model, involving mistreatment.
• Urgent regulatory standards are needed to ensure donkey welfare in Brazil.