With three years of drought in Cape Verde, the effects are many and one of them is the abandonment of donkeys in the fields of the Cape Verdean island of Boa Vista, an animal that was one of the first means of transporting people and cargo on the second most tourist area of the country.
That is why they are leaving the wild fields and invading the city of Sal Rei in search of water and pasture, Lusa Emiliano Santos, one of the mentors of a project called “Burrinho”, told the agency to preserve this animal and fix it again in the fields.
According to the spokesman for the group of citizens from Boavista, the project consists of building drinking fountains in agricultural and breeding areas, to prevent donkeys from invading the city of Sal Rei, the center of the island of Boa Vista, and keeping them in their habitats.
During the day, Emiliano Santos realized that there are “hundreds or thousands” of donkeys circulating in rural areas, but at nightfall they cross roads, causing many road accidents.
In addition, he said that when they arrive in the city, they wander the streets, make a lot of noise during the night and search the garbage containers in search of food.
“The big problem is the abandoned donkeys, because in the past each breeder put the animal in his fence because it was his means of transport”, recalled the group’s spokesman, referring that in Sal Rei the donkeys approach the shipyards of works looking for water.
In this regard, he asked for sensitivity from the population and civil builders in Sal Rei to supply water to the animals while the project is being set up.
With regard to pasture, Emiliano Santos, better known as Djidjuka, said that it is “a serious problem”, but stressed that donkeys have a great capacity for survival, and many people even mock that they are well treated, despite the three years drought in the country and on the island.
The project also intends to acquire food that will be placed in strategic points on the island, but the main focus is the creation of drinking fountains, having already obtained some interested partners and companies and wants to involve civil society.
Emiliano Santos said he already has the endorsement of the company Águas e Energia da Boa Vista (AEB), which provides water and energy production and distribution services on the island, but also needs transportation services.
“The project has no deadline. While we are facing drought, it is difficult for donkeys to feed and we want to feed them ”, stressed the same source, for whom only rain could help overcome the problem more quickly.
In addition to donkeys, Emiliano Santos stressed that drinkers will also benefit cows, goats, among other animals on the also known as “Ilha das Dunas”, with white sand beaches that occupy an extension of more than 50 kilometers.
But at this moment the island, which registered the first case of covid-19, is practically stopped, because the country has been closed since March 19 to international flights, with no deadline for resuming tourist activity.
According to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), Boa Vista had a resident population of 17,707 inhabitants in 2018, of which 43.6% are from another municipality and 11.1% are immigrants.
With 26 hotel establishments in 2018, the island recorded 1,671,127 overnight stays, corresponding to 33.9% of the total nationally in that year, only surpassed by the island of Sal, with 50.04%.
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