Working with universities: the Kenya experience.

Abstract

Donkeys are a major source of transport and draught power in rural and peri-urban Kenya. Yet, despite their overt importance, their welfare needs and contribution to the economy are not appreciated [1]. The Kenya National Livestock Policy draft of May 2008 does not recognize the donkey as 'livestock' and thus its contribution to the economy. In Kenya, the University of Nairobi (UoN) is the only institution that trains veterinarians, while the governmentowned Animal Health and Industry Training Institutes (AHITI) train animal health technicians and Egerton University runs an animal sciences programme. The low economical status attached to the donkey has consequently made these institutions give minimal or no emphasis on the donkey. Below is a description of the efforts made by the Donkey Sanctuary (DS) funded Donkey Health and Welfare Improvement Project Kenya (DHWIP) at the Kenya Society for Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA) through universities to best equip future clinicians and persons working with donkeys with information on animal welfare and donkey medicine and management practices; to promote donkey welfare; and to contribute towards the development of a knowledge base on working donkeys in Kenya.