Burdened beast

A fall in demand as a beast of burden, and illegal meat and skin trade have caused a critical decline in donkey numbers

EVERY EVENING, Mohammad E Iqbal takes his donkey to the Old Delhi railway station to deploy the animal for moving gravel and sand used in railway track repairs. On some days, Iqbal, a resident of Shahdara district in the national capital, takes his donkey to construction sites for similar work.

"I earn 2600 for working six hours at my will, more than what I would earn from a full day of manual labour or any other job," he says, adding that the donkey is not just a stead. His family of five depends on this income for survival.

Like Iqbal, several smallholders and rural communities across India depend on donkeys The animal finds use in places untouched by mechanisation, like brick kilns, where its small size helps it move quickly through narrow entrances.

A 2013 survey by the Indian unit of Brooke, a UK-based international non-profit that works on the use and protection of horses, mules and donkeys, finds that of the total annual income earned by equine owning families working in 50 brick kilns in 10 districts of Uttar Pradesh, 80 per cent came from their animals' transport of bricks. For 47 of the 200 equine owners surveyed, the animals were the only source of income.

Similarly, dairy suppliers in Gujarat use donkeys to carry milk across rough terrain, while potters in Lucknow use them to transport clay. The equine also serves as a draught animal in farms. "Donkeys have a financial impact on households and the economy," says Habibur Rahman, regional representative for South Asia at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi.

RAPID DISAPPEARANCE

Estimating the economic value of donkeys is not as simple as with other livestock animals, as there is a lack of evidence on their socioeconomic and cultural benefits.