3,692. Must Kohanim and Leviim Redeem Donkeys?

Hilchos Bikkurim 12:14

Kohanim and Leviim are exempt from redeeming firstborn donkeys as per Numbers 18:15: “A human firstborn and the firstborn of an unclean animal you shall redeem.” Everyone who is obligated to redeem a human firstborn is likewise obligated to redeem the firstborn of an unclean animal (i.e., a donkey). Those who are exempt from redeeming human firstborns (i.e., Kohanim and Leviim) are likewise exempt from redeeming the firstborns of unclean animals.

Hilchos Bikkurim 12:15

If a Jew buys an unborn donkey from a non-Jew – or if he sells an unborn donkey to a non-Jew even though doing so is not permitted – he is exempt from redeeming the firstborn. He is not penalized for acting improperly. If the non-Jew is a joint owner of the mother or the firstborn, the donkey is exempt from redemption; this is so even if the non-Jew only owned 1/1000 of the animal. If a non-Jew owns only a particular limb or organ of the unborn donkey or its mother, such as a leg or even an ear, so long as removal of that part would disqualify an animal as blemished, it is exempt. However, if the non-Jew owns a part whose removal would not disqualify an animal as blemished, it must be redeemed. Similarly, let’s say that a Jew receives a donkey from a non-Jew to raise on the condition that they will jointly own the offspring, or if a non-Jew received a donkey from a Jew on that same condition, it would be exempt from redemption. The is derived from Exodus 13:2: “The first issue of the womb among the children of Israel, of man and of animal.” We see that the donkey must be owned entirely by a Jew.