Donkey meat is viable business

A livestock farmer in Kopong village has discovered that donkey meat is a viable business as the meat is in high demand.

Tshepo Monaroula told Business Trends that he normally sells live donkeys but he has now realised that selling donkey meat is more profitable because it has higher returns than selling a live donkey. “I normally sell one or two donkeys but last year I decided to slaughter and sell it as meat and to my surprise the whole meat was bought and finished on the same day,” said Monaroula.

Monaroula who is also a herd boy said he is rearing cattle and goats in his father’s farm in Tlhape cattle post, just a few kilometres from Sir Seretse Khama International Airport. While serving in his father’s farm, he bought two donkeys in 2010 and now he has more than 20 donkeys and about 50 goats.

“I decided to rear donkeys because I realised they can be a good business opportunity as there is high demand for donkey meat in the market. Nowadays a lot of people eat and like donkey meat,” he said.

Monaroula said he started slaughtering donkeys last year November and sells the meat in Mogoditshane village. He carries the meat in buckets on a donkey cart and sells each piece for P10.00.  “After slaughtering I cut the meat into pieces. One donkey normally fills four 20 litre buckets and I always get about P600.00 on average. It’s a good return for me compared to selling a live donkey at P400.00,” he said.

The 24-year-old Monaroula plans to slaughter donkeys after an interval of every two weeks this year because of the drought conditions. “There is a lot of livestock in our farm because they are combined with my father’s so I want to sell most of my donkeys because there is a serious problem of drought. I used to sell once in a while but this year I am going to be selling frequently,” he said.