Gladness Gideon
A surge in demand for ejiao, a traditional Chinese health supplement made from donkey hide collagen, is fueling a booming and often illegal global trade in donkey skins, raising urgent concerns over animal welfare, public health, and livelihoods across Africa.
The market for ejiao, now valued at $6.8 billion according to China-based research firm Qianzhan, has placed immense pressure on global donkey populations. In China, where the number of donkeys plummeted from 11 million in 1992 to just 1.5 million by 2023, importers have increasingly turned to Africa to meet production demands.
In response to the mounting crisis, the African Union imposed a 15-year moratorium on donkey slaughter last year. But experts say enforcement has proven difficult, with black market operations continuing to thrive across the continent.
UK-based charity The Donkey Sanctuary estimates that approximately 5.9 million donkeys were killed globally in 2024, with projections indicating that the ejiao trade will require at least 6.8 million skins annually by 2027. The charity has warned that the trade is not only unsustainable but is also rife with exploitation, violence, and health risks.
“The ejiao industry drives a massive global trade in donkey skins, much of it illegal,” the organization said in a report, adding that “traders exploit vulnerable people using large and sophisticated networks of agents to pressure donkey owners into selling their animals.”
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In many rural African communities, donkeys are central to everyday life, especially for women and children who rely on them for ploughing farmland, fetching water, and transporting goods to market. Their loss has triggered a wave of social and economic hardship.
“Illegal networks operate across the continent, often without consequence, stealing and slaughtering donkeys in the night,” the charity stated. “Donkeys die in often unregulated, inhumane, and unsanitary conditions, and large numbers perish on their way to slaughterhouses.”
In addition to ethical and economic concerns, experts are also raising alarms over public health implications. The transportation of untreated skins and improper disposal of donkey carcasses pose serious threats of disease outbreaks and environmental damage.
With criminal networks thriving and demand still rising, activists and governments are calling for stronger international cooperation to curb the trade, enforce existing bans, and develop sustainable alternatives to protect both animals and the communities that depend on them.