Tag: African donkeys

By 2020, the global donkey population stood at 53 million, two-thirds in Africa. Using the estimated human population in Africa, simple math shows that one donkey serves at least 37 people, making it a critical resource for the continent’s economy.

This week I spent a few days in Cape Town, in time for a minor, if telling, crisis in international agricultural trade. A ship crammed with 19,000 (mostly still living) cows was stuck in Cape Town harbor, en route from Brazil to the Middle East.