The Current Situation and Trend of Donkey Industry in Europe

Owing to the mechanization in agriculture and transport, the number of donkeys reared in Europe was reduced of 50% in the last 20 years and more than 80% since the middle of the last century. During this period, no attention was devoted to the breeding selection and biodiversity conservation, with the results that, nowadays, most of the European breeds of donkey are threatened of extinction. The remaining donkeys, in Europe, are employed for niche purposes as mule production or maintenance of soil and landscape. The consumption of donkey meat is not popular in Europe, and a few animals are sent to the slaughterhouse. A new interest is growing in Europe for donkey milk, mostly for human consumption, but also for the production of beauty products. Marginal areas of donkey employment are the social and leisure uses. In spite of the fact that interest for donkey in Europe is very marginal and very few or even no funding for research were provided from national or European authorities, more or less one third of articles published on different aspect of donkey sciences in the last 20 years were produced in Europe.