Hundreds of thousands of people have backed calls for Amazon to stop selling ejiao products, as the trade in the donkey skins is causing “mass slaughter” worldwide.
Animal welfare groups including Brooke USA Foundation delivered petitions signed by more than 370,000 people to Amazon in the US, asking for a ban on the sale of products containing ejiao.
A spokesperson for Brooke said it is estimated that five million donkeys are killed every year to meet the growing demand for ejiao, “which has health claims that remain unproven”.
H&H has reported on efforts being made to stop the trade, which the Donkey Sanctuary has previously described as an “animal welfare disaster”.
Brooke USA chairman Jim Hamilton said: “The international trade in donkey-hide gelatin products is leading to the mass slaughter of donkeys, resulting in widespread harm to impoverished communities around the world.
“We should act immediately and help shut down this illicit trade that leads to substantial harm to humans and animals worldwide. The first step is to reduce the demand by shutting down product access.
“Amazon must set the example and remove all products containing ejiao from its online platform.”
Organisations also including the Humane Society of the United States, Ekō, American Wild Horse Conservation, the American Association of Equine Practitioners and the American Fund for Alternatives to Animal Research took part in a rally before the petition was presented.
Mares and Foals
“Global demand for the skin trade is estimated at almost five million skins per year, meaning almost half of the world’s donkeys could be wiped out in the next five years,” the Brooke spokesperson said.
“The cross-border smuggling of donkeys for their skins poses a huge risk of disease transmission from humans to animals, which could lead to another future pandemic. Brooke USA and its UK-based sister organisation Brooke are calling for a global ban on the trade, including the enforcement of current bans and a crackdown on cross-border trade.
“In 2021, the Ejiao Act was reintroduced in the House of Representatives to ban the sale and trade of ejiao in the US, which Brooke USA is lobbying to be implemented.”
Lacey Kohlmoos of Ekō, which aims to hold corporations to account for their actions, said: “It’s outrageous that Amazon continues to allow the sale of ejiao products on its site. Donkeys are being stolen from families and then subjected to dehydration and broken bones, before being bludgeoned to death and skinned.
“I hope that today’s action and the outcry of over 370,000 people from around the world finally convinces the company to do the right thing for both the affected families and the donkeys.”
The trade not only affects animals, the loss of donkeys is a major blow to communities in developing countries who depend on them for their livelihoods. In February 2024, after lobbying from welfare organisations, the African Union banned the trade.
Amazon did not respond to H&H’s requests for comment.
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