Socio-economic and health aspects of donkeys in North-West and Eastern Cape Provinces, South Africa

Several studies were designed to address the gaps in the information concerning the socio-economic role of donkeys in communities in South Africa. One study was undertaken in the North-West Province during 1995 and another in the Eastern Cape during 1996. Methods used included semi-structured interviews and participatory appraisal techniques. Communities included were from semi-rural and rural areas in the North-West Province and rural and urban areas in the Eastern Cape Province. Of 12 disease conditions which were identified by owners in the North-West Province, ticks, wounds and harness sores were considered most important. In the Eastern Cape, ticks and mange were identified as the most common causes of injury and disease. In both provinces, the key issues for the donkey users were identified as security, access to further information and training for the communities in all aspects of donkey use. Introduction In South Africa 300,000 working equids, including donkeys, provide an important alternative to mechanisation in resource-limited communities (Starkey, 1995). However, very little is known about the socio-economics, health, nutrition, breeding or management of these animals (Krecek, Starkey and Joubert, 1994; Cornelius, McCrindle and Krecek, 1995; Krecek, Cornelius and McCrindle, 1995). The aim of the studies reported below was therefore to obtain some of this information. This paper looks primarily at the role of the donkey in the community and the health of working donkeys. Materials and methods North-West Province The first study area was in Moretele 1, located approximately 60 km north of Pretoria and in the North-West Province which was part of the former Bophuthatswana homeland (Figure 1). There are an estimated 350,000 inhabitants in the area. Three study villages were selected in the Makapanstad district of Moretele 1, namely Tladistad, a semi-rural community, and two rural communities, Transactie and Thulwe. A questionnaire was designed as a structured interview, rather than as a written questionnaire, to be completed with the donkey owners. Owners were interviewed at the time of the initial meetings set up with the community to introduce the project. The interviewer sat down with each owner in turn (with someone to translate when necessary). Each owner was then asked the questions appearing on the questionnaire, but was not given the selection of answers. Questions were rephrased or translated until the owner fully understood what was being asked. When the owner had answered the question, the interviewer ticked the appropriate answer on the sheet. If the answer given was not in the list, the interviewer wrote the full answer in the margin. Interviews Donkeys, people and development 203 Note: This version of the paper has been specially prepared for the ATNESA website. It may not be identical to the paper appearing in the resource book T h is p a p e r is p u b lis h e d in : S ta rk e y P a n d F ie ld in g D (e d s ), D o n k e y s , p e o p le a n d d e v e lo p m e n t. A re s o u rc e b o o k o f th e A n im a l T ra c ti o n N e tw o rk fo r E a s te rn a n d S o u th e rn A fr ic a (A T N E S A ). A C P -E U T e c h n ic a l C e n tr e fo r A g ri c u lt u ra l a n d R u ra l C o o p e ra ti o n (C T A ), W a g e n in g e n , T h e N e th e rl a n d s . 2 4 4 p . IS B N 9 2 -9 0 8 1 -2 1 9 -2 . T h is p u b lic a ti o n w a s s u p p o rt e d b y C T A a n d N e d a , T h e N e th e rl a n d s . F o r d e ta ils o f A T N E S A a n d it s re s o u rc e p u b lic a ti o n s s e e h tt p :/ /w w w .a tn e s a .o rg Figure 1: South Africa showing the nine provinces lasted approximately half an hour per owner. Owners were encouraged to talk about all aspects of their donkeys and frequently gave interesting anecdotes and information not directly included in the questionnaire. These were recorded. Eastern Cape The second study was conducted in two neighbouring villages, Ndwayana and Ndlambe, in the Mid Fish River Zone in the Eastern Cape Province, which is part of the former Ciskei homeland. The nearest large town is Grahamstown which lies 45 km south-east of the villages. Information gathering was based on a range of participatory appraisal (PA) techniques such as direct observation and semi-structured interviews based on a checklist and an ethnoveterinary question list (Grandin and Young, 1994; Kirsopp-Reid, 1994). The semi-structured interview formed the basis from which other techniques developed. It proved useful for both individuals and groups. Conversation was allowed to flow freely while the checklist made it easier for the interpreter, when used, to ensure all topics were covered.