Declaration Calls for a 15-Year Ban on the Slaughter of Donkeys for their Skins

THINK

Jan 3

Pressure to protect Africa's remaining equines from the ejiao trade builds as delegates from 55 member states propose a 15-year moratorium on donkey slaughter.

Delegates from Africa’s 55 member states have gathered in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to discuss a strategy to protect the continent’s remaining donkeys, which are currently the world’s most trafficked animals.

Every year, 4.8 million donkeys are killed for their skins to supply the demand for ejiao, a gelatin-based ingredient made from boiling the hides of donkeys, used in traditional Chinese medicine, candy, and cosmetics. Donkey populations are suffering sharp decreases as a result of this, particularly across Africa.

Reports by the leading equine welfare charity, The Donkey Sanctuary, have also revealed the irrefutable link between the trade in donkey skins and the trade in other illegal wildlife products, as well as the significant risk of zoonotic disease posed by the trade.

At the first Pan-African Donkey Conference, delegates drafted an urgent declaration to propose to the African Union Congress. The ‘Dar es Salaam Declaration on Donkeys in Africa Now and in the Future’ recommends a 15-year ban on the slaughter of donkeys for their skins across the continent. The declaration is also pushing for further policies, strategies, programs, and legislation to help protect donkeys on both a national and regional level.

“Donkeys are in crisis in Africa, and The Donkey Sanctuary fully supports the recommendations outlined in the Dar es Salaam Declaration,” said Janneke Merkx, Tactical Response Officer at The Donkey Sanctuary, adding that a 15-year moratorium on donkey slaughter, was the sort of measure desperately needed to stop the exploitation from continuing.

Attempts to curb the trade have led multiple countries including Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria to ban the export of donkey skins, but despite this, sellers continue to operate illegally, with social media multinationals coming under fire for facilitating the trade. The sale of donkey skins remains legal in South Africa, Mauritania, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Botswana.

What Can You Do?

Species Unite has been working to shine a light on and rally strong opposition against the donkey skin trade through our hard-hitting petitions and content - the more global attention this issue gets, the more chance we have of ending the trade for good.

As a prominent driver of the global trade in ejiao, American consumers have a responsibility to educate themselves and others about this devastating industry and to help combat it. A bill to ban the import of donkey skin gelatin has been introduced in Congress. H.R. 5203 - The Ejiao Act, amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and bans the knowing sale or transport of ejiao made using donkey skin, or products containing ejiao made using donkey skin, in interstate or foreign commerce. In an interconnected world where supply is based on demand, we can make a difference here in the United States to help put a stop to this horrific international trade once and for all. Please join Species Unite in calling on Congress to pass the Ejiao Act by signing this petition.

We have also been calling for the Kenyan government to reinstate its ban on the slaughter of donkeys. The country announced the ban in 2020, but this was overturned just a few months later. You can add your name to the petition here.

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