Punjab has the largest donkey population as compared to other provinces of Pakistan.
The number of donkeys in Punjab has reached 2.403 million.
After Punjab, Sindh has the highest donkey population of 1.081 million, while KP has 782,000 donkeys.
In Balochistan, the donkey population stands at 630,000, whereas in the federal capital Islamabad, 4,000 donkeys have been recorded.
Donkey meat in Islamabad
Earlier, local administration in Islamabad seized around 1,000 kilograms of donkey meat.
Police lodged a case against the arrested foreign national, who had been running the operation, and are looking for his local facilitators.
The seizure was made during a joint raid by the Islamabad Food Authority (IFA), local police and the Islamabad district administration on a farmhouse in Tarnol area, according to the IFA.
“A foreign national was arrested at the site which has been sealed and an investigation is underway,” Muhammad Nasir Butt, a spokesperson for the Islamabad district administration, told the media.
“We will conduct further raids as per the findings of the investigation and efforts are also underway to trace local individuals involved.”
Pakistan is frequently listed among countries with the highest number of donkey populations worldwide. The country’s donkey population rose to 6 million in fiscal year 2024-25, which ended in June, compared to 5.9 million in 2023–24, according to the latest economic survey.
In May this year, Pakistan Customs had foiled an attempt to smuggle donkey hides worth approximately Rs80 million (around $283,800) to China. The staff deployed on the Risk Management Profiling System of the Karachi Customs
