It was announced that thousands of donkey penises that were about to be smuggled to Hong Kong were confiscated in Nigeria.
Sambo Dangaladima, Regional Commander of the Nigerian Customs Service, told reporters that sacks of donkey genitals were seized at Lagos International Airport.
A total of 16 sacks of genitals were confiscated, Dangaladima said. “The shipment was mistakenly declared as … bull genitalia (but) after due examination, customs officers revealed that they were donkey genitalia.”
The customs service also announced that an investigation has been launched into the matter.
It is known that donkey skins are frequently exported or smuggled abroad in Nigeria. But donkey penis trafficking is said to be a rare occurrence. In July, Nigerian customs seized $116,000 worth of donkey skin, which was smuggled into the country from neighboring Niger.
Nigeria is trying to curb donkey skin exports, which has greatly reduced the country’s working animal population, especially in the north. Nigerian senators have proposed to ban the killing of donkeys and the export of their skins by 2021. Because if the donkey is not taken under protection, there is a risk of extinction in the country due to the low rate of reproduction.
The bill to prevent the export of donkey genitalia and skins to countries such as China, where they are used in popular traditional medicines, has not yet been enacted.
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