End U.S. involvement in donkey slaughter and skin trade 

UPDATE (7/11/24): After collecting 51,274 signatures in support of the Ejiao Act, Species Unite handed in our petition to a representative of Congressman Donald Beyer so that he may use it as evidence of the overwhelming support for his bill when he works to gather more cosponsors in Congress. We are now turning our attention to reaching out to individual members of Congress. Will you join us? Even if you signed the original petition, please follow the steps above to write a letter. It only takes a minute and can make a huge difference.

UPDATE (02/18/24): Progress! The African Union has banned the Donkey skin trade. The ban will make it illegal to slaughter donkeys for their skins throughout all of Africa and will put increased pressure on the international community including the United States to do their part to end this horrific business.

Every year nearly 5 million donkeys are slaughtered for their skins and the numbers are only going up. These innocent animals are brutally beaten and often skinned alive so that their pelts can be used to make a type of gelatin called ejiao that is used in traditional Chinese medicine. This is a far-reaching global crisis that is decimating international donkey populations and devastating poor families in the global south who face the threat of having their donkeys kidnapped and killed.

We now have an opportunity to make a difference on the demand side of this gruesome international trade as a bill to ban the import of donkey skin gelatin, introduced by U.S. Representative Don Beyer of Virginia, is currently being considered in Congress by the Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce. H.R. 6021 - 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.

Although China is the biggest importer of donkey skin gelatin, the United States also accounts for an estimated $12 million worth of annual imports.

By importing donkey skin gelatin the United States is complicit in the theft and murder of these innocent animals across the global south particularly in hard hit Kenya.

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.