donkey meat

File:Tapulon 03.jpg is an Italian stew based on donkey meat]]

Donkey meat is considered to be of low quality,{{sfn | Polidori | Di Girolami | Vincenzetti | 2021 | p=65}} so donkeys are usually not raised specifically for meat production,{{sfn | Polidori | Di Girolami | Vincenzetti | 2021 | p=64}} except in arid regions where they represent an important food source. Since the donkeys are typically slaughtered at the end of their useful life as working animals, their meat is frequently tough.{{sfn | Polidori | Di Girolami | Vincenzetti | 2021 | p=65}}

File:Donkey sandwich, Hejian style (20160220143311).jpgs from Hebei, China]]

The main global producers of donkey meat are China, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Nigeria, Mauritania, and Spain.{{cite web|url=https://www.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx/noticia/206930.codiciada-carne-de-burro-en-asia-y-europa.html|title=Codiciada-Carne de burro in Asia Y Europa|date=10 April 2006 }}{{sfn | Polidori | Di Girolami | Vincenzetti | 2021 | p=65}} Donkey meat has a smaller market compared to horse meat, and the main consumers are China (which is a significant importer),{{cite web|url=https://www.corriere.it/esteri/16_ottobre_03/cina-caccia-asini-africa-26fdae6a-894c-11e6-abfc-a4694ee65833.shtml|title=La Cina a caccia di asini nel mercato africano|date=10 March 2016 |lang=it}} Italy, and Mexico.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mexican-fish.com/donkey |title=Mexico-Donkey|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623003751/https://mexican-fish.com/donkey/|archive-date=2020-06-23}} Approximately 3.5 million donkeys and mules are slaughtered each year for meat worldwide.{{Cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QL|title=FAOSTAT|website=www.fao.org|access-date=2019-10-25|archive-date=2018-10-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030170521/http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QL|url-status=live}} In Italy, which has the highest consumption of equine meat in Europe and where donkey meat is the main ingredient of several regional dishes, about 1,000 donkeys were slaughtered in 2010, yielding approximately {{convert|100|tonnes}} of meat.{{cite web|url=http://agri.istat.it/sag_is_pdwout/jsp/dawinci.jsp?q=plAMR0000010000010000&an=2010&ig=1&ct=603&id=8A%7C10A%7C51A%7C71A|title=Tavola AMR13 – Bestiame macellato a carni rosse – (Gennaio – Dicembre) – Anno 2010|lang=it|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426080558/http://agri.istat.it/sag_is_pdwout/jsp/dawinci.jsp?q=plAMR0000010000010000&an=2010&ig=1&ct=603&id=8A%7C10A%7C51A%7C71A|archive-date=2012-04-26|publisher=Istat — Istituto Nazionale di Statistica. Retrieved December 2011}}

In West Africa, old donkeys are typically butchered at the end of their useful lifetime as pack animals, and their meat is traditionally dried and smoked. In France, donkey meat consumption has become rare after World War II, it is however still used as ingredient for traditional sausages in Provence. Hungary, Poland, and Russia have similar traditions. In the Anglosphere, donkey meat consumption, similarly to horse meat, is generally considered taboo.Neville G. Gregory, Temple Gardin, Animal Welfare and Meat Production, CABI, 2007{{cite web|url=https://www.repubblica.it/sapori/2018/02/02/news/cucina_asino_storia_consumi_abitudini_specialita_-187805693|title=Il ritorno della carne d'asino|lang=it}}

Donkey meat can be consumed fresh, or used as ingredient for hams and sausages. Fresh donkey meat can be roasted or used as ingredient for stews. Donkey stew and tapulon are two examples of traditional stews in Italian cuisine. In China, the donkey burger is a traditional street food in Baoding and Hejian, Hebei Province. Donkey sausage is traditionally prepared in Italy (salame d'asino), Provence (saucisson d'Arles), in Hungary (Eselwurst) and Poland (Salceson).{{cite web|url=https://modernfarmer.com/2014/12/donkey-delicacies|title=Donkey delicacies|date=12 December 2014 }}

Donkey meat is similar to horse meat and has a dark red colour, with yellowish fat.

A 100 g portion of donkey meat provides 116 Kcal, with a 3.1% fat and 20.7% protein.{{cite web|url=https://www.fatsecret.it/calorie-nutrizione/generico/carne-di-asino|title=Carne d'asino-Valori nutrizionali|lang=it}}

Judaism forbids donkey meat consumption.{{cite web|url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4660885/jewish/Are-Donkeys-Kosher.htm|title=Are Donkeys Kosher?}} Some Islamic scholars{{specify |reason=name, mazhab? |date=March 2025}} also consider donkey haram.{{Cite web |title=Sunan Abi Dawud 3790 - Foods (Kitab Al-At'imah) - كتاب الأطعمة - |url=https://sunnah.com/abudawud:3790 |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=Sunnah.com}}{{better source needed |reason=hadith is weak, not reliable |date=March 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://www.lacucinaitaliana.it/news/salute-e-nutrizione/cibo-e-religione-cibi-proibiti-per-ebraismo-islam-e-buddismo|title=Religione: cibi proibiti per ebraismo, islam e buddismo|date=20 June 2016 |lang=it}}

• {{cite book | last1=Polidori | first1=Paolo | last2=Di Girolami | first2=Paola | last3=Vincenzetti | first3=Silvia | title=Meat and Nutrition | chapter=Vitamins and Minerals in Raw and Cooked Donkey Meat | publisher=IntechOpen | date=2021-07-28 | isbn=978-1-83968-702-0 | doi=10.5772/intechopen.96666 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CQc_EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA63 | pages=63−76}}

{{Commons category|Donkey meat|lcfirst=yes}}

Category:Donkeys

Category:Meat by animal