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SA donkeys used to hold off menopause in China

Donkey skin is in demand in China as it is used to produce medicine that delays menopause in women, according to the North West government.

The provincial government will export donkey meat and skin to China.

Sowetan reported earlier this month on donkey breeders who complained their animals were stolen following the announcement by the provincial government.

Some of them also indicated their interest in selling their donkeys to China.

This was after p remier Supra Mahumapelo announced the province had signed a memorandum of understanding with China to supply them with a certain breed of donkey .

According to department of rural, environment and agricultural development chief director Patrick Leteane, Chinese people were interested in an ingredient found in donkey skin. He said the skin is "used for various pharmaceutical products".

Donkey meat would mainly be used for feeding lions in China, he said.

The skin extract would be used for female products that delay and make it easier to deal with menopause .

The skin is used to make chewable pieces.

There is another product in liquid form that treats various other female health issues.

Leteane said men could also drink the product as it would help cure flu and rough skin.

He was part of a delegation that accompanied Mahumapelo to China last year .

Leteane said Abyssinian , a donkey breed common to SA , was not suitable.

"We do not have the type of donkeys needed there, but we will improvise in order to handle the demand," he said. The province would need to breed Corsican and American Mammoth donkeys.

He said that for the province to meet the demand and supply a quality product, they would have to import donkey semen from China. "We will, in the first phase, buy semen from China and use artificial insemination to have the breed that's needed for the product."

Leteane said the donkey trade was likely to boom. There are rumours that one donkey would sell for about R5000 in China, hence the theft spike in the province.

"They [the donkeys] will be quite expensive, but only if the breeder has the correct breed," Leteane said.

He said the province had decided to establish a feedlot around Mahikeng where the donkeys will be bred and slaughtered.

Provincial spokesman Brian Setswambung said they we re hoping to start the supply by the end of this year. "The province will first hold workshops where donkey breeders will be taught how to go about this business. "

He said the province was hoping to get Chinese experts to train donkey breeders.

In June the province will be signing an agreement with China to exchange information. The donkey skin trade is reportedly worth millions in China as the gelatin in the skin is said to help improve lack of sleep, blood circulation and delay ageing.

Efforts to get a comment from the Chinese Embassy were unsuccessful.

tshehleb@sowetan.co.za

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