Title of Consultancy : Cross Border Donkey Smuggling Investigative Journalism

Brooke Ethiopia vision and mission

Our vision is of a world in which working horses, donkeys and mules are free from suffering.

Our mission is to transform the lives of vulnerable working horses, donkeys and mules around the world. We relieve their immediate suffering and create lasting change by working with people, communities and organisations.

About Brooke

Brooke is an international animal welfare charity working to improve the lives of working horses, donkeys, mules and the people who depend on them.

We reach over 2 million working animals across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Our staffs include vets, animal welfare experts and advocacy and development specialists.

Our aim is to equip local people with the knowledge and skills to give their horse, donkey or mule a better life.

In Ethiopia, Brooke works with stakeholders and partner organisations who take leadership to transform the lives of vulnerable working donkeys, horses and mules by relieving their immediate suffering and creating lasting change.

Therefore, Brooke works in various ways;

- With animals – Brooke relieves their suffering through treatment and education, and undertakes research to improve their welfare.

- With owners - By working with owners Brooke addresses the most common and severe problems to ensure a healthier future.

- With Health Services – Working with local vets and other service providers to improve the availability and quality of service of working animals.

- With Governments – Brooke advocates for local, national and international institutions to include the welfare of working equine animals in policy and legislation

Our Values

We are proud to be Brooke. We are resourceful, share new ideas and help each other succeed. Together we make change happen.

Scope of the consultancy

To achieve the above objectives Brooke seeks the services of a consultant to carry out a donkey trade mapping that generates baseline information on donkey resources in the cross border areas of Ethiopia as well as other relevant information to support control of illegal donkey trade by undertaking the following actions:

A.       Review of existing materials, literature, data and knowledge covering both quantity and associated animal welfare of donkeys in cross border areas. The review will also explore in details the initiatives already employed by governments, community and governments and donkey traders to ensure sustainability of donkeys in light of ongoing donkey trade.

B.      Assess and produce a robust and evidence based mapping of the donkey sources for the donkey slaughter houses in Kenya; and potential for meeting demands for donkey slaughters in export abattoirs.

C.       Identify major problems, challenges, threats to the identified communities from which donkeys are sourced legally and /or illegally.

D.      Provide an economic analysis of the impact of donkey trade has on different segments of the community; livestock producers, farmers, women, children, and environment.

E.      Provide an expert analysis of the most cost effective solution (including policy changes and enforcement) that can better support protection of donkeys from decimation and their sustainable productive use in society. A component of this should focus on immediate, medium and long term solutions.

F.        Incorporate aspirations of the donkey owners and animal welfare in the three countries national development plan in sustainable donkey sub-sector development in the three countries.

G.       Documentary video will be produced in both languages (English and Amharic)

MAIN DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

The entire population of donkeys in African region is at a risk due to donkey hide trade driven by demand from China. The hides are boiled to produce gelatine used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. With hundreds of thousands of donkeys slaughtered and exported from Africa each year, there is no doubt that donkey numbers across Africa have been decimated, causing a crisis for animals and people.

In Ethiopia, and indeed the region, donkeys are important working animals for rural, peri-urban and urban communities who rely on them for transport services and tillage operations. From 2018 census, Ethiopia had a population of 8.8 million donkeys. However, with the licensing of four slaughter houses in Kenya slaughtering approximately 1200 donkeys per day, has seen 80% of donkeys smuggled into Kenya to feed the four slaughter houses in Kenya. Ethiopia is therefore the main feeder of donkey skin trade, and consequently; Brooke Ethiopia is calling for a ban on the illegal Donkey Trade and a crackdown on cross border smuggling of donkeys into Kenya for their skins.

- To establish donkey trade routes from source communities in Ethiopia and other countries to donkey slaughter houses or local markets in Kenya.

- To produce a clear map and geo-referenced legal and illegal donkey trade routes from source communities to donkey slaughter houses in Kenya.

- To establish the number of live donkeys that are trekked/transported, trend of supply and demand at specific points into Kenya from Ethiopia

- To identify source communities and known and /or suspected market sites, establish supply chain and market linkages (supported with evidence at each segment).

- To provide an understanding on the socioeconomic impact of live donkey trade on source communities and households.

- To  ascertain donkey welfare issues along the way from source community, route(trekked and tracked)(Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya),market sites, and ante-mortem exam(if possible) at slaughter houses(Kenya)

- To establish whether the donkey trade violates regional and international trade agreements and what such violations portend for the affected countries.

- To provide an analysis of prospects of current donkey trade, public opinion on donkey trade, potential for donkeys’ existence and required policy changes in the three countries.  

Qualification Required 

 Educated and certified in one of the following fields or related

-  Investigative Journalism

-  Theater Arts

-  Creative Writing

-  Communications

Required Experience:

Minimum of 6 months up to five years of previous experience in one of the above fields around digital media platforms and investigative journalism.

Applicants must show proof of previous work experience

Skills:

- Excellent reading, writing skills in English and Amharic.

-  Excellent investigative journalism skill and experiences on animal welfare

-  Ability to execute in a fast-paced environment, and maintain grace under pressure.

-  Excellent web browsing, web research and information gathering skills.

-  Storytelling skills and an understanding of dramatic structure.

-  A willingness to accept criticism and rejection of your work.

The Brooke Ethiopia invites those who are interested and fulfill the above criteria’s are eligible to apply to HR Department, Brooke Ethiopia Country Office located around 22 Sefer, away to 24 Kebelle  near Christmas Hospital) within 10 consecutive with a deadline of January 06, 2020.

Those who satisfy the criteria indicated above will be considered for selection and those who win the offer shall be awarded the jobs. Applicants are expected to submit their copy of TIN number and Trade License. 

Documents needed to be sent in the application: -

1.       Proposal of the work with clear methodology and budget

2.       CV with full contact information

3.       Previous work experience documentation

4.       Previous work sample (Scripts, Audios and Videos)

It should be submitted separately in a sealed envelope on or before January 06, 2020 in person.