Professor Roger Kanton, a research scientist and lead advocate for the Fight Against Donkey Extinction Project, has made a passionate appeal to the government of Ghana to immediately ban the illegal trade in donkey hides.
Speaking during a meeting with Parliament’s Select Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Cocoa Affairs, Prof. Kanton emphasized the urgent need for legal backing to support the fight against the illicit trade, which continues to threaten the survival of donkeys in Ghana and across Africa.
“I just want to know the status of the legal arrangement and how that connects to our ability to fight the donkey trade, which the police so much require,” Prof. Kanton told members of the committee.
He explained that the group is relying on several international documents and agreements as a legal basis to demand the ban. “We are standing on the Eco-Wise veterinary doctors’ resolution that came out of Papua New Guinea in 2014. That was the first document we picked up because the Chief Director of Ghana was a party to that meeting,” he noted.
Prof. Kanton also referenced another crucial document from DACA, an advocacy group working to protect donkeys across the continent.
“They agreed that if this trade is not stopped, the donkey population will perish. We later got another supporting document from the African Union which further strengthened our position,” he added.
While holding back on delving into the full details of the documents at the meeting, Prof. Kanton stressed that the legal groundwork for a ban exists and called on the government to act swiftly.
“I have a lot to say about this document. I’m not going to go into it today,” he said, “but I just want to find out if there has been a formal ban in place.”
