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Thread: Donkey Crisis

  1. #16
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    Kung Fu Donkey restaurants

    Fat Wang's Donkey Burgers sounds like a horrible porn flick.


    Chinese food has conquered the world. But are we ready for the donkey burger?

    Ben Westcott and Nanlin Fang, CNN • Updated 21st November 2019


    Donkey meat chain Fat Wang's signature dish -- a donkey burger with sauce and spring onions.

    Beijing (CNN) — From steamed dumplings to hot pot, traditional Chinese food has often proved hugely popular in the West. Now, Chinese restaurant owners are hoping they have found the next delicacy to crack the Western market -- donkey burgers.
    In Beijing, the unusual dish is undeniably popular.
    At lunch hour, diners pour into the brightly colored "Fat Wang's Donkey Burger" restaurant in the busy Beijing central district of Xicheng.
    Sitting at a counter with a group of friends, Beijing local Wang Li Min is tucking into the restaurant chain's signature donkey burger, which comes in a long, thin bun with spring onions.
    "In China, we have a saying," Wang says, between bites. "In heaven, there is dragon meat. On Earth, there is donkey meat."
    The meat tastes gamey and full of flavor, more like beef than chicken or pork.
    Originally a northern Chinese delicacy from Hebei province, the donkey-based snack has spread to major cities across the country. There are more than 20 Fat Wang's branches in Beijing alone.
    Just how popular donkey burgers are across the whole of China is debated. According to Sun Yu Jiang, a professor at the Qingdao Agricultural University, heavy demand is only really isolated to a few big provinces such as Hebei or Xinjiang.
    "Donkey meat is not the mainstream product of meat consumption," he says. "Most people in China are more likely to eat pigs, poultry, cattle and sheep."


    Donkeys, horses and mules are gathered for sale at a livestock trading market in Faku, northeastern China's Liaoning province on April 11, 2016.
    STR/AFP via Getty Images

    But Zhang Haitao, the official Hebei government-sanctioned representative of the donkey burger and founder of the Kung Fu Donkey restaurant chain, says demand is growing faster than supply. He even thinks it could go global.
    "When I was the president of the Hejian Donkey Burger Association (earlier this year), the market value of the donkey burger business was about 8 billion yuan per year," he says. That's around $1.1 billion.
    "But if the donkey meat market can improve, the industry's market value could be at least 100 billion yuan in the future," he adds.

    Emperors and trains
    There are different stories about how donkey meat became a popular delicacy in northern China.
    Wang Haibo, regional head of the Fat Wang's chain and nephew of the eponymous founder, says the legend of donkey meat goes back to the 1700s during the reign of the Qing dynasty's Qianlong Emperor.
    "When the emperor was traveling south, he stopped at Hejian Fang in Hebei province. He felt hungry at night and asked a eunuch if there was anything he could eat. The woman at the house he stayed at made him a pancake. Coincidentally, they had just killed a donkey and stewed its meat, so she put them together and gave it to the emperor," Wang says.


    Wang Haibo, regional head of Fat Wang's Donkey Burgers, with a sample of the store's signature products in Beijing in September.
    Ben Westcott/CNN

    According to Wang, the emperor was so impressed by his meal that he brought the recipe back to Beijing, from where it spread across the country.
    Another explanation is that Hebei province's many donkeys, previously used for freight transport, fell into disuse after the introduction of railways towards the end of the Qing Dynasty. No longer needing them for transport, locals found another use for their donkeys.
    But the government-sponsored expert, Zhang, says the story is very simple. Shortly after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, farmers began to use donkey meat as food when they traveled for work.
    "Donkey meat was cheapest at that time. The donkey burger can be stored for several days before it gets sour," he says. Over time, according to Zhang, it spread to other nearby provinces and cities
    Whatever the reason, the dish has now become a major part of northeastern Chinese cuisine and is increasingly being used to attract tourists.
    Hebei province even hosted its first annual donkey burger festival in May 2017.
    "The demand for donkey is growing, but the market has shifted in recent years. It was a low-end market before, and now it has become a middle or high-end market," Zhang says.
    However, there are indications that instead of growing, the donkey meat market in China is actually shrinking.
    According to official Chinese government data, the number of donkeys being kept as livestock shrank almost 50% over the past 10 years to 2.53 million in 2018. In comparison, before the recent swine fever crisis, China had more than 420 million pigs.
    Qingdao professor Sun says the drop was probably partly due to the growing industrialization of transportation and agriculture. Also, raising donkeys is expensive and time-consuming.

    Fast food sensation?
    Originally from Hebei, Fat Wang's is one of China's largest donkey meat restaurant chains. Apart from their signature donkey burgers, they also are known for donkey meat hotpots.
    Regional head Wang is very particular about how to handle donkey meat. "It has to be from donkeys that are older than three years. If they are too young, the meat will be too soft to eat. If the meat is frozen it won't taste good," he says.
    Wang explains that it is their family's recipe for donkey burgers they use to this day. And now they want to share it with the world.
    "I am thinking about expanding outside of China," Wang says. "It's just that so far our management team can't follow the speed of expansion (domestically) ... But I think we can expand this to the Western world."


    One of about 20 outlets of the popular donkey meat chain Fat Wang's Donkey Burgers across Beijing.
    CNN/Ben Westcott

    Kung Fu Donkey's Zhang says there are already several people looking into opening branches overseas.
    "It has been called a model for 'Chinese fast food' ... The cooking procedure of donkey burger can be standardized like the hamburgers of McDonald's and KFC," he says, adding that he'd like to emulate the success of hot pot sensation Haidilao, which has hundreds of branches around the world.
    They might be fighting an uphill battle. A donkey burger restaurant which opened with much fanfare in the Australian city of Sydney in 2018 appears to have already closed permanently.
    Wang says he's relying on Chinese Americans to spread the word about the great taste of donkey meat and create a market for it in the United States.
    Whoever gets there first, Wang says he's happy to wait as he's not worried about his competition.
    "Their burgers will never taste like ours," he says.

    CNN's Maisy Mok and Yong Xiong contributed to this article.
    THREADS
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    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  2. #17
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    Sacks of the donkey male genitals

    Nigeria seizes donkey *****es to be smuggled to Hong Kong
    By CHINEDU ASADU
    yesterday

    FILE- A man on a donkey moves past Government Science Secondary School where school children were kidnapped in Kankara, Nigeria, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. Nigerian officials on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022 say they have seized thousands of donkey *****es that were about to be exported to Hong Kong. Sacks of the donkey male genitals were seized at the international airport in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)

    ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian officials have seized thousands of donkey *****es that were about to be exported to Hong Kong, an official said on Thursday.

    Sacks of the donkey male genitals were seized at the international airport in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, Sambo Dangaladima, the Nigeria Customs Service area commander, told reporters.

    The consignment was “falsely declared … as cow male genitals (but) after due examination, my export officers discovered they were donkey male genitals,” said Dangaladima. A total of 16 sacks of the genitals were seized, he said.

    An investigation has been launched to find out more information about the seized items, the customs service said.

    Although the seizure of donkey genitals meant for export from Nigeria is rare, donkey skins are known to be frequently exported or smuggled out of the country. In July, the Nigerian customs seized $116,000 worth of donkey skins being smuggled into the country from neighboring Niger.

    Nigeria is trying to curb the export of donkey skins which has drastically diminished the country’s population of the work animals, particularly in the north. Nigerian senators in 2021 proposed to ban the killing of donkeys and the export of their skins.

    The lawmakers said such a ban on killing donkeys would further curb the export of donkey skins and genitals — which Nigeria prohibits — to countries like China where the skins are used in popular traditional medicines. That proposed legislation has not yet been passed into law.

    “The major beneficiary in this trade is the donkey (skin) merchants in China,” Muhammad Datti, one of the federal lawmakers supporting the proposed ban, has said. “This animal is facing extinction (in Nigeria) and it is an animal you cannot breed in large numbers because of the very low rate of fertility.”
    I feel that this post comes full circle to the first post on this thread...
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  3. #18
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    15 year ban

    African donkey trade ban to slash China’s supply of traditional medicine ejiao
    Chinese demand for the hides accounts for the slaughter of more than 5 million animals each year, many from Africa
    Animal welfare groups have welcomed the African Union’s decision to end the slaughter of donkeys for their skins
    Jevans Nyabiage



    Published: 6:00pm, 20 Feb, 2024

    Africa has banned the slaughter of donkeys for their skins, dealing a significant blow to China’s lucrative market for a traditional medicine made from a gelatin extracted from the hides.
    Insatiable demand for ejiao – which is said to improve vigour, enrich the blood and have anti-ageing properties – has obliterated China’s own donkey population, leading to huge export industries in Africa and South America.

    But the African Union (AU) heads of state on Sunday ratified a motion proposing a 15-year ban on the donkey skin trade. Animal welfare organisations welcomed the decision as an “historic moment”.

    The ban was proposed in November by the AU’s specialised technical committee for agriculture, rural development, water and environment and ratified by the leaders, who were in Addis Ababa for the 37th ordinary session of the AU Assembly.

    Africa is home to about two-thirds of the world’s donkeys. Ethiopia – with nearly 100 million animals – is said to be the “world’s donkey superpower”. Sudan, Pakistan and Chad are also among the world’s top producers.

    Donkeys are stubbornly difficult to breed, with a gestation period that can last more than a year. Any obstacle to China’s imports of their skins is likely to pile on the pressure for the booming ejiao industry.

    Ejiao was once known as a “medicine for emperors” but is now marketed to China’s affluent population. Collagen is extracted by boiling the donkey hides and then mixed with herbs and other ingredients into bars, pills and liquids.

    Chinese demand accounts for the slaughter of more than 5 million donkeys annually, but only 2 million of those are supplied domestically. The remainder come from imported donkey hides – which could be fuelling an illegal trade in other countries.

    The Africa ban follows an outcry from communities and animal rights groups, who say that the donkeys are treated cruelly or stolen from farmers who rely on them for their livelihoods.

    Brooke East Africa, one of the associations that worked with the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources to push for the ban, welcomed Sunday’s decision. “It is a great moment for donkeys all over the world and for indigenous African biodiversity conservation,” said Dr Raphael Kinoti, the association’s regional director.

    “Donkey slaughter for its skin has had many negatives, from eroding livelihoods in Africa to robbing the continent of its culture, biodiversity and identity.


    Ejiao, a traditional medicine made of gelatin extracted from donkey skins, is marketed to China’s middle class as an anti-ageing treatment. Photo: AFP

    “We must all applaud the AU heads of states for taking these bold and drastic measures for a good cause. We urge all AU members to uphold the decision for the good of all.”

    Animal welfare charity The Donkey Sanctuary also welcomed the move, saying it will help to protect the continent’s 33 million donkeys from being stolen, trafficked and slaughtered.

    The charity said it would safeguard the tens of thousands of communities in Africa that rely on donkeys for their well-being and livelihoods.

    “Donkeys in Africa will have enhanced protection from the devastating donkey skin trade following the ratification of a pan-African moratorium on the slaughter of donkeys for their skin,” it said.

    The Donkey Sanctuary says at least 5.9 million donkeys are slaughtered for their skins every year across the globe. The number – which it describes as conservative – is projected to reach 6.7 million by 2027, to satisfy Chinese demand, it said.

    The charity’s chief executive Marianne Steele, who described the AU decision as “enormous”, said the “agreement from leaders of the African Union strikes at the heart of the brutal skin trade”.

    “It’s our hope that this decision will act as a catalyst for the rest of the world to act now, to not just save our donkey populations but to actively recognise their value and protect them properly,” she said.

    According to the charity, the situation in Kenya – where authorities have closed several Chinese-owned donkey slaughterhouses – is such that the animals could become endangered.

    “If the exploitation of donkeys were to continue at the rate we had been seeing, in another three to six years donkeys could be joining rhino and elephants as an endangered species in Africa,” it said.

    The charity also pointed out the decision will need to be implemented and enforced by every country in the African Union.

    Tanzania and Ivory Coast have already banned the trade, while Kenya closed four Chinese-owned slaughterhouses in 2020 in response to increasing cases of donkey theft.

    Across the Atlantic in Brazil, a bill to ban donkey and horse slaughter will proceed to the Constitution and Justice Committee of the country’s Congress after it was passed by both the agricultural and environmental commissions.

    Brazil is one of China’s biggest markets for donkey skins, but the animal also holds cultural significance for the Brazilian people. The bans in Brazil and Africa will effectively cut off China’s supply from two of the biggest markets in the trade.
    Enforcement across Africa - hope that gets sorted.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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