NEWS
Donkeys stolen for illicit hide exports
Move over, the rhinoceros, there ' s another, albeit much humbler, animal that is reportedly being targeted by Chinese medicine-men, not for its horn( because it doesn ' t have any), but for its hide which, apparently, when processed yields ejiao, a gelatin used in traditional medicine. It ' s the donkey, and there are reports of donkeys having disappeared all over the country in recent months, as well as in other African countries, some of which have banned all donkey exports lest their national herds be decimated entirely. In some cases the spate of donkey thefts has reached epic proportions. There are said to be at least three villages in Limpopo from which all the donkeys have disappeared. Which is a major problem for the
Despite a number of prominent transport economists having labelled it illogical and unviable, the Moloto Rail Development Corridor is set to become a reality, following the signing last month of a memorandum of understanding between the Passenger residents as the loss of a donkey to a rural peasant is the equivalent of the hijacking of a car and the theft of a tractor from a more affluent person, as donkeys are traditionally used for transport, as well as for working the soil using small animaldrawn implements. And, if the theft of the beast is not awful enough, its treatment by the thieves
Rail Agency of SA( Prasa) and the China Communications Construction Co. The Moloto rail project ' s main objective is to ensure that passenger rail is the backbone of an integrated multi-modal transport system linking Pretoria with KwaMhlanga and beyond, passing through before it meets its ultimate fate, namely death, can be barbaric. Because the animals are stolen only for their skins scant attention is paid to such niceties as feeding and watering. In July the farm animal unit of the SPCA was reported as having to euthanase 70 donkeys found in appalling conditions on a Chineseowned farm in the Free State.
Chinese to build‘ unviable’ Moloto line
three provinces, and replacing the notoriously dangerous Moloto road which, despite a multi-million rand upgrade in recent years, is still one of South Africa ' s most notorious killer-roads. The project will entail the construction of 13 new train
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