40 Section 2
started working with communities to improve donkey welfare in Meru, Kenya, in- A visit to an association of donkey owners in the area in September 2015
demonstrated the concept of One Welfare in action.
Three years of targeted projects with donkey-owning communities resulted in
reductions in wounds, improved local animal healthcare services, and the devel-
opment and implementation of animal protection by-laws at community group
level. These changes protect the animals that countless families across the county
depended upon. Leaders of the local donkey welfare groups also described a
number of significant human benefits also realized as a result of these projects:
- Increased access to safety nets and support systems: services, advice and
opportunities were created to strengthen donkey owners’ businesses and to
free up capital to be spent on other aspects of their lives. Owners gained
access to animal healthcare providers trained in equine medicine, pre-
ventative husbandry advice from peer group members, brightly coloured
reflective vests to be worn while working on busy roads and loans for emer-
gencies requiring a quick input of cash to preserve or strengthen their
donkey business.
‘It is only through the donkey that I finance my family’
‘When we come together in a group we manage to save money’
‘The living standard has been improved’
‘Now we are using the donkey to get the child to university level’ - Increased social status: coming together as a group of professionals to work
through shared challenges (animal welfare-related or otherwise) increased the
social capital of donkey owners. To improve their image, uniforms were pur-
chased through group savings and bylaws were put in place to protect the
animals and people by reducing cart driving while under the influence or al-
cohol or drugs. The group initiated an annual town clean-up to ensure streets,
grazing areas and market places are a safe environment for all, and to remind
people how much donkeys and their owners do for the community. Almost
60% of the traders in the market depend on donkeys to transport their pro-
duce. Recognition of their contribution by the county government, as well as
by the local provincial administration, also boosted the donkey owners’ morale
and confidence.
‘Before we met these people [KENDAT] even the government saw us as bad
people’
‘Even the community knew us as criminals’
‘The rest of the community depends on the donkey’
‘The community now realizes that donkeys are important’ - Fewer conflicts and a platform for local voices to be heard and respected:
donkey owners felt empowered for the first time to make their voices heard
within their community and beyond; they reported that the number of
conflicts and complaints related to donkeys had reduced, and that linking
with the government through their groups strengthened their voice even
further.
Case Study 9. Continued.Continued