The Federal Government through the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) has clarified that donkey hide had not been removed from the export prohibition list as erroneously reported in some quarters.
The Director General of the agency, Dr. Vincent Isegbe disclosed this to debunk a news report that falsely suggested that NAQS had resumed the certification of Donkey Skin for export, adding that delisting of Donkey Hide from the contraband category hinges on the rebound of the Nigerian donkey herd which is still classified as an endangered species.
NAQS is a regulatory agency under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development that was created to ensure that agricultural import/export meets with international standards.
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The Nigerian government enacted the prohibition due to a vast criminal network behind the illicit Africa-Asia donkey skin trade since donkeys in Nigeria and across Africa are being stolen, or poached and slaughtered at an alarming rate for the purpose of harvesting the skin to be exported illegally.
Isegbe recalled that the Agency had a meeting with all the relevant stakeholders in September 2021 to chart a course toward restocking the donkeys through aggressive breeding and proper ranching to push the population of the animals above extinction threshold.
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He disclosed that about 80 per cent of agro-products from Nigeria that were intercepted and seized by the European Union member nations were exported illegally, while expatiating that the decline of the donkey population in the country was driven by surging demand for donkey hide in Asia.
NAQS boss went on to explain that the contraband product is being used in making potions and items presumed to have therapeutic and cosmetic value, noting that about 80 per cent of agro-products from Nigeria that were intercepted and seized by the European Union member nations were exported illegally.
