The Donkey Skin Trade: Challenges and Opportunities for Policy Change

Abstract

The use of animal derivatives in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) dates back more than 5000 years. Donkey skins are one such animal derivative, the skins are used to produce ejiao, which is a luxury product and believed by some to have a variety of health benefits. The increasing demand for ejiao is putting the global donkey population at risk. In China between 1990 and 2018 the donkey population decreased by 77 per cent, as a consequence donkeys are largely being sourced from Africa to meet the demand. In low and middle‐income countries donkeys are a valuable livelihood asset. Research has emerged highlighting the potential detrimental impacts of the loss of donkeys on livelihoods. In addition to the impact on communities, the trade presents a number of signifcant health and welfare concerns to donkeys. Methods for raising awareness, reducing demand and challenging and enforcing policy are all needed to reduce the impact of the donkey skin trade. Policy change needs to be bottom up, with local bans in countries where the trade is most damaging and coordinated enforcement of legislation, including the tackling of illegal cross border trade. Partnership across non‐governmental organisations, agencies and government is essential.

Donkey business: Trade, Resource Exploitation, and Crime

“…While previous research has explored the impact of Chinese import competition on economic variables such as manufacturing employment (Autor et al, 2013;Pierce & Schott, 2016) and workers' earnings (Autor et al, 2014;Dix-Carneiro et al, 2023), there is a smaller body of work focusing on the demand-side effects of China's ascendancy, especially in those natural-resource based markets. Previous research has shown that ejiao market and donkey hide trade has led to detrimental effects on rural communities livelihoods in African countries, where donkeys are important assets (Carder et al, 2019;Goodrum et al, 2022;Maggs et al, 2023). Our results point out, however, to a resource-boom effect: international demand makes these previously worthless animals valuable.…”

“…Donkeys are slaughtered in these regions, and their skins are exported to Chinese factories for ejiao production. This globalized trade has exerted immense pressure on donkey populations worldwide, leading to concerns over animal welfare, livelihoods dependent on donkeys, and the sustainability of donkey populations (Bennett & Pfuderer, 2020;Gameiro et al, 2021;Goodrum et al, 2022;Waters, 2019).…”

“…Donkey hides are frequently smuggled alongside other prohibited wildlife products, a practice commonly referred to as parallel trafficking (Sheikh & Lohre, 2023;The Donkey Sanctuary, 2022). Moreover, scientists have expressed apprehension regarding the potential role of the donkey hide trade in facilitating the transmission of zoonotic and other infectious diseases, thereby exacerbating the complex array of challenges associated with this trade (Goodrum et al, 2022;Skippen et al, 2021).…”

The Global Contributions of Working Equids to Sustainable Agriculture and Livelihoods in Agenda 2030

“…One novel, and of considerable concern to some, is the inter-continental value chain for “ejiao”, a gelatine produced from donkey skin and used in traditional Chinese medicine and beauty products. Africa is the epicentre of this trade, which has depleted stocks and resulted in an illegal trade of donkeys (Goodrum et al 2022 ). Replacing stocks through breeding is slow, as donkeys have low fertility and long gaps between offspring (Brooke 2020a ).…”

Comprehensive transcriptomic analysis unveils the interplay of mRNA and LncRNA expression in shaping collagen organization and skin development in Dezhou donkeys

“…In the context of modern agriculture and the evolving role of donkeys in agricultural production, this discourse delves into the increasing utilization of donkey products, with particular emphasis on the medicinal value attributed to ejiao, derived from donkey hide (Maigari et al, 2020;Goodrum et al, 2022;Yan et al, 2023). It is of particular note that the dermal layer of donkey hide, enriched with collagen, assumes a pivotal role in the preparation of ejiao.…”