The donkey skin trade: a growing global problem

Authors

  • Laura Skippen Brooke – Action for Working Horses and Donkeys, London, United Kingdom https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6554-3239
  • Jonathan Collier Independent researcher, South Queensferry, Edinburgh
  • James Mutiiria Kithuka Brooke East Africa, Nairobi, Kenya

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1678-4456.bjvras.2021.175262

Keywords:

Donkey, China, Donkey hides, Welfare, Livelihoods

Abstract

Growing demand for ejiao – gelatin produced from donkey skin and used in Traditional Chinese Medicine – is putting global donkey populations at risk and threatening the livelihoods of millions of people that depend on them in lower and middle-income countries. Hundreds of thousands of donkeys are slaughtered for their skins and exported annually, mostly from Africa to China. However, the trade is spreading across the globe, including Brazil. This article highlights the appalling welfare conditions for donkeys caught up in both the legal and illegal trade, as well as the effects on vulnerable people and the potential for disease spread and hazards to human health.

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Published

2021-04-26

How to Cite

The donkey skin trade: a growing global problem. (2021). Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Research and Animal Science, 58, e175262. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1678-4456.bjvras.2021.175262