Don’t Wait for Parliament”: Ex-CSIR-SARI Deputy Director Urges Citizens to Fight Donkey Smuggling

Story by Fada Amakye from Top Radio

Former Deputy Director of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI), Prof. Roger Adamu Lure Kanton, has warned that Ghana remains a key transit route for illegal donkey trafficking and urged citizens to take ownership of the fight rather than wait for slow parliamentary processes.

Speaking at a forum on animal smuggling, Prof. Kanton said the trade is widespread across West Africa, with donkeys brought into Ghana from northern neighbors, slaughtered locally, and shipped out to meet foreign demand.

“It’s widespread because it’s coming from up north. Ghana is a route. They bring them here, our people help them to slaughter, give to the Chinese, and they carry them away,” he said.

He noted that Burkina Faso’s recent ban on animal movements into Ghana and the closure of several facilities have helped reduce the trade. “There has been a significant reduction, but we are not going to say we’ve achieved much and sit down and relax. We’ll fight harder,” he said.

Prof. Kanton criticized Ghana’s weak enforcement of existing laws, arguing that while the country has signed onto ECOWAS and African Union agreements banning donkey trafficking, it has failed to domesticate and implement them locally.

“Ghana is not good at enforcing laws. Laws are made, but nobody enforces them. That’s our biggest challenge,” he said. “This donkey issue is under ECOWAS and AU protocols we’ve signed. If you’ve signed to it, why are you not implementing? It’s just to indigenize it, not a new law.”

He questioned why Ghana should wait for Parliament to act while farmers lose their livelihoods. “Should we wait for parliament to pass it when people are losing their livelihoods? No. So we have to act. That’s why we call it vigilantism – you get up and do the right thing, you challenge the criminal elements.”

Prof. Kanton stressed that security and protection of livelihoods cannot be left to the state alone.

“You own your problem. Nobody can guard my security better than myself. When I see dubious movement, I know what to do,” he said, adding that public ownership of the issue has already led to progress in Northern Ghana.

He said CSIR-SARI will continue to push the issue at district, regional, and national levels, and called on Ghanaians to remain vigilant and report suspicious movements.

The donkey trade has become a major concern for farmers in northern Ghana, where the animals are vital for transport and farming.