Donkeys in Tanzanian Gold Mines Receive Special Care

With your wonderful support, Lake Zone Animal Welfare Organization (LAZAWO) conducted a special two-day mobile veterinary clinic for working donkeys in January. The clinic was held in the small gold mining towns of Nyaruyeye, Nyarugusu and Mugusu in Geita, where 602 donkeys were seen and treated.

LAZAWO also provided education for 100 donkey owners. Additionally, their paravet attended donkeys in need at six gold mines throughout January.

Donkeys were given deworming medications and treated for issues including trypanosomiasis and tetanus. The biggest issue, however, were wounds. 187 donkeys were treated for wounds caused by beating, inhumane harnesses and poor-fitting harnesses.

In these harsh working conditions, the team noticed most donkeys have wounds. Unfortunately, the miners are treating their donkeys using ash and oil. Now, with proper access to medications and advice from LAZAWO, the owners are eager to use more effective treatments for their donkeys.

The biggest challenge in this mining region is that there is no safe place to take injured donkeys so they can recover. Owners do not follow recommendations to rest their donkeys when they are wounded, and LAZAWO’s paravet has found them working again the next day.

The team do not want to push fines or other punishments onto the miners, otherwise they will not be welcomed back. Their current strategy is to have the mining community welcome LAZAWO and accept their presence.

Long-term, LAZAWO hope to remove severely injured donkeys from the mining sites and allow them to heal in a sanctuary. Donkeys will only be returned to the miners once they have had time to heal. LAZAWO’s short-term plan is to continue educating and encouraging the miners to let any injured or wounded donkeys rest and recover.

During January, LAZAWO also responded to a case where a six-day-old donkey foal had been orphaned after her mother died of tetanus. Their paravet educated the foal’s owners on correct feeding and care to ensure her wellbeing.

Heartfelt thanks go out to all our donors for helping us fund this critical work for donkeys in Tanzania.

Together, we can create much-needed change and reduce the terrible suffering of donkeys working in the gold mines.