Pakistan’s trade policy now clearly allows the export of donkey hides from designated, approved or registered donkey slaughterhouses in the Gwadar Free Zone, but the public notification reviewed does not appear to spell out a broad, standalone approval for donkey meat exports in the same direct way the headline suggests. That distinction matters, because the official record is narrower than the headline.
The key document is a Ministry of Commerce notification dated October 2, 2025, which amended the Export Policy Order and stated that “the export of donkey hides shall be allowed only” to firms and companies operating in approved slaughterhouses located in the Gwadar Free Zone. The same amendment also removed donkey hides from the schedule of banned exports, effectively reversing the earlier restriction.
That earlier restriction traces back to a 2015 ECC decision, imposed after concerns that donkey meat was being sold in local markets under the guise of beef and mutton, alongside worries over illegal and brutal slaughtering practices. Several reports on the 2025 policy change describe the new move as the rollback of that decade-old ban, but again, the official public wording available here centers specifically on hides.
So the real story is a bit more careful than the headline. There is strong evidence that the government opened a regulated export channel tied to Gwadar-based donkey slaughterhouses, and public reporting connects that framework to the handling of both meat and hides. But the clearest official text currently visible is about conditional donkey hide exports, not a sweeping public notification that plainly says “donkey meat and hides” in those exact terms.
Business-focused reporting around the policy also suggested the government wanted tight monitoring so donkey meat and hides would not enter the local food chain, underscoring how sensitive the issue remains. That points to a controlled, compliance-heavy model rather than an open-ended export approval.
The Gwadar restriction is central to the policy. Under the amended rules, the export facility is not nationwide; it is limited to approved operators in the Gwadar Free Zone, which appears designed to keep the trade concentrated, inspectable and easier to regulate.
In plain terms, the safest way to frame the development is this: Pakistan has officially allowed conditional exports of donkey hides through approved Gwadar Free Zone slaughterhouses, reversing a 2015 ban, while broader claims about donkey meat exports should be stated more cautiously unless backed by a clearer public notification.
