ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Thursday lifted the ban on the export of donkey hides after 10 years, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Commerce.
In 2015, the Economic Coordination Council (ECC) banned the export of donkey hides in the country in view of the sale of donkey meat under the guise of beef and mutton in different cities.
The ban was lifted as part of an amendment to the Ministry of Commerce’s Export Policy Order 2022.
The recent decision allows the export of donkey skins from the Gwadar Free Zone, with permission granted only to registered and approved slaughterhouses.
“The export of donkey hides shall be allowed only to those firms [and] companies manufacturing in designated, approved or registered donkey slaughterhouses located in [the] Gwadar Free Zone only,” the notification reads.
The notification also stated that the ban on exporting donkey hides would be omitted from the Export Policy Order.
The Agriculture Census released in June this year showed that the number of donkeys in Pakistan has further increased.
Punjab has the highest number of donkeys (2.403 million) among all provinces, followed by Sindh (1.081 million), then Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (782,000), while Balochistan has the lowest (630,000). Islamabad recorded 4,000 donkeys.
