According to the website of the Botswana government, MPs are calling for the country’s underperforming ostrich abattoir in Gaborone to be turned into a facility for slaughtering donkeys.

Following agriculture minister Johnnie Swartz’s statement in Parliament that the abattoir suffers from low levels of supply, MPs suggested an alternative use for the facility. Mr Swartz said that there are currently 46 ostrich farmers whose combined output is 4,100 - way below the break-even output of 15,000 birds required by the abattoir on an annual basis.

In response to this, MP Christian De Graaf of Ghanzi South, said donkeys are more than 20 times more abundant than ostriches in Botswana and could be used to the country’s advantage. He added that donkey meat is becoming a delicacy in countries such as Italy and Belgium.

MPs claim that the current lack of supply shows that the government rushed into building the abattoir without having assessed the potential market and supply of birds.