Donkey Farmers Benefit from Free Donkey Clinic in Mt.Elgon
Donkey farmers within Mt.Elgon region have on Monday received free donkey clinic services in the areas of Chwele Ndogo and Kopsiro in a program planned by Ripple Effect, Kenya Veterinary Association as well as The County of Bungoma.
Speaking during the exercise at Chwele Ndogo Adrine Soni, a donkey farmer applauded the efforts made by stakeholders to reach out to them and help save their donkey’s lives.
“We are grateful especially as women because donkeys are literally our helpers at home, they carry water, firewood and farm produce to and from the market, we urge you to continue with these services more often,” said Soni.
While addressing media, Dr.Peter Ng’ielo of Ripple Effect thanked the farmers for heeding to the call and promised that they will be conducting more of such clinics in the near future.
“We are grateful to our farmers and today we have come with more than 5 doctors and 8 furious whom we’ve trained ourselves to cater for these lovely animals, we shall continue working with the County and KVA to ensure all donkey farmers are also well trained on how to cater for the animals and when to report medical issues that need intensive care,” reiterated Dr.Ng’ielo.
Dr.Nicholas Muyale, Kenya Veterinary Association Chair also expressed his gratitude to all stakeholders and farmers cautioning them against quack vets who have played a big role in causing donkey deaths in the region.
“Farmers should be well advised that qualified vets have designated registration numbers from KVA and they should not be coaxed by fraudulent doctors who do more harm than good to the animals while swindling innocent farmers,” cautioned Dr.Muyale.
The entire day exercise was a success that saw over 200 farmers have their donkeys dewormed and administered an intra muscular injection of anti-rabies vaccine in both clinic centers at Kopsiro and Chwele Ndogo.
At least more than 20 dogs also got an opportunity to share the anti-rabies injection with the donkeys.
“17th May will be a day to observe World International Donkey Day and this is like a rehearsal since farmers will gain knowledge on how to maintain a healthy donkey for higher productivity,”Dr. Ng’ielo.
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