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Not my cup of tea: Donkey skin trade for the Ejiao industry is threatening local donkey extinction.



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© Riley Forson (2010)


Introduction:

When I sit down for a cup of tea, or I put my face-oil on at night, I know what I am drinking and putting on my face; I know for certain it does not contain donkey hide gelatine, known as “Ejiao”. However, for some people that is exactly why they purchase donkey hide tea or donkey gelatine products. “Global donkey populations are in crisis”[1] due to the growing demand for their skins for the production of Ejiao. The result has been a devastating decline in local populations of donkeys across the globe, but now particularly in East Africa, where the local extinction of donkeys is a shocking reality.

An overview of Ejiao, the impact on donkeys and the communities: Welttierschultz Gesellschaft e.V (WTG) explains that Ejiao “is made by boiling donkey skin and is used as gel or powder in food, drink and skin products.[2]” It has, for centuries, been used by more elite classes who had access to traditional Asian medicine to help improve their overall health and beauty. The NY Times reported that “Ejiao was once prescribed primarily to supplement lost blood and balance yin and yang, but today it is sought for a range of ills, from delaying ageing and increasing libido to treating side effects of chemotherapy and preventing infertility, miscarriage and menstrual irregularity in women[3].” However, due to the expanding wealth of nations like China and the steadily growing diaspora of Asian nationals into European countries this has all led to a crisis for donkeys. In China, the donkey population was 11 million in 1990, by 2017 it was only 3 million, in an industry which demands about 4.8 million donkeys per year to meet demand[4][5].

The result is that industry eyes have turned to Africa, where WTG cites that 27% of the world’s donkey population can be found[6]. This has created a local crisis for donkeys in many African countries. Brooke reports that Burkina Faso experienced 45,000 exports of donkeys in just 6 months from a total donkey population of 1.4 million, and that in Kenya between 2016-2018, 16,544 tonnes of donkey meat and skin products were exported[7]. SPANA (The Society for the Protection of Working Animals ) also reported similar findings, with Botswana’s donkey population falling by 38% in 2 years[8].

The Donkey Sanctuary, in its report “Under The Skin (2019)”, states that the Ejiao trade has “disastrous consequences for donkey welfare” and that up to 20% of donkeys can die before even reaching the slaughterhouses[9]. Donkeys are herded into trucks, often with no food, water or rest periods and are often injured in transit. They arrive to slaughterhouses where there is little food, water and shade. As The Donkey Sanctuary states: “As injury or illness does not outwardly affect the quality of the skin, there is no incentive for local traders to ensure the humane treatment of donkeys. The death of a donkey [before slaughter] is, at times, viewed favourably as slaughter fees are avoided but the skin is still processed.” If they do not die before slaughter, donkeys are often treated with exceptional cruelty before death, despite the existence of laws to regulate the protection of their welfare. This is particularly disturbing given the fact that donkeys are emotionally intelligent and compassionate. Their suffering is wholly unnecessary as Ejiao has no medicinal benefits for its users.

Not only does the donkey skin trade impact the donkeys, it also has a significantly negative impact on local people, who often depend on their donkeys for their livelihoods; an Ethiopian proverb states: “If you do not have a donkey, you become a donkey”, due to the fact that many women then have to take on the work their donkeys help with. This has been a considerable part of the grass-roots activism to change the law across African countries because the donkey is such a valued member of communities and families. In Kenya donkey thefts increased in the areas close to the 4 slaughterhouses, but predominant increases were seen in Baringo (11%), Machakos (3%) and Turkana (26%)[10]. You can read more about the social impacts of the donkey trade via The Donkey Sanctuary report and via Brooke’s website pages, which you can find at the end of this blog post.

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How does the law regulate the donkey skin trade?

Across Africa there has been action to regulate or ban the donkey skin trade, as the vast amount of donkeys being stolen and killed for their skin threatened socio-economic ruin for many people who live on, or close to, the poverty line.

In 2016, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger either banned donkey slaughter or the trade in donkey skin exports. In 2017, Botswana halted approval of export licences, but did not make the trade illegal, and Chad established a task-force to tackle donkey trafficking, but again, did not take steps to make the trade illegal. In October 2017, Zimbabwe took steps to ban registration of donkey slaughter houses, whilst in February 2018 Namibia announced it would reject donkey slaughterhouse applications. The most extensive step to legislate on the donkey skin trade was by Nigeria, in October 2018, which introduced a Bill to ban donkey slaughter and export, enshrining the protection of donkeys from the Ejiao trade in law.

Two donkey slaughterhouses were established in Tanzania in 2014, but in June 2017, the Tanzanian Government banned the export of donkey products, due to the crisis that was facing the local Tanzanian donkey populations. However, due to the fact that neighbouring Kenya had not taken steps to ban export of donkey skin at that time, Tanzania lifted the ban due to concern that it would cause traders to push the donkeys into Kenya for slaughter. A recent development saw the Tanzanian Government revoking (and later refusing to renew) the licence to slaughter; however, without a concrete ban it remains to be seen how this will play out.


However, up until recently the WTG stated about Kenya “the situation is even worse…The country is said to be the centre of exports of donkeys from East Africa to China.[11]” In The Meat Control (Local Slaughterhouses) Regulations 2010, were amended under s.3 of The Meat Control Act to include the donkey as a red meat food animal for human consumption. . Between 2014-18 the Kenya Government granted licences to 4 donkey slaughterhouses, which are majority owned by Chinese nationals, the Goldox Limited slaughter house (2016), the Star Brilliant Limited slaughterhouse (2016), the Silzha Limited Trading Company Limited (2016) and Fuhia Machakos Trading Company Limited (2018). These slaughterhouses contribute significantly to the donkey skin trade and the decimation of the Kenyan donkey populations. The Government issued a ban on donkey slaughter in 2019, which is currently being challenged before the courts.


So, the law is a patchwork across East Africa, and Africa as a whole, in relation to the donkey skin trade. Nigeria’s action to introduce a Bill to ban the trade was a significant step, which should be emulated by the other nations which have spoken against the trade, or made bans without enacting legislation to reinforce the ban. Tanzania is still yet to ban the trade, despite neighbouring Kenya now having a ban in place. However, what is clear is that much more needs to be done to ensure the protection of local donkey populations and donkey welfare from the Ejiao trade.


What is being done to help?

There has been a great deal of grass-roots advocacy across the African nations impacted by the donkey skin trade, which is largely why many bans now exist in varying forms. Charitable support on the ground also ensures the welfare of donkeys is improved and whilst helping to lobby for the donkey skin trade ban to be enshrined in legislation.


In Kenya, The Donkey Sanctuary, which is working closely with Brooke, has instructed Advocates for Animals, a UK animal law firm, lf of to try to ensure that the ban on donkey exports and slaughter will be upheld against judicial review claims and a constitutional petition by the various slaughterhouses. For example, Star Brilliant argued that their rights under the Constitution of Kenya, particularly Article 47 on the right to administrative action, had been violated by the process by which the ban was created. The Donkey Sanctuary, Brooke, local community groups, such as ADOK and ADWOK, and the legal team are working hard in the courtroom to ensure that these claims do not succeed and that the ban is upheld to protect the donkeys.


SPANA has been working in Zimbabwe with other local support groups to successfully lobby the Government and prevent a new donkey abattoir from opening, as well as helping local Masai tribespeople in Tanzania keep their donkey herds protected with shelters. WTG have been working with Tanzania Animals Protection Organisation to disseminate information on the donkey trade crisis in Tanzania and to help local people build protection shelters for their donkeys, to try to counter rising donkey thefts.


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Conclusions:

Therefore, whilst the law might be moving incrementally to protect the donkeys from this cruel trade, on the ground-activism is what is holding the governments of these nations accountable and ensuring that change is being demanded for the donkeys.

So, when you sit down to have your cup of tea or to put on your face cream today, firstly check that it has no products derived from donkeys, but also take some time to read these sources and learn more about the donkey skin trade and what you can do to help:


-Brooke’s FAQs on the donkey skin trade: https://www.thebrooke.org/our-work/donkey-skin-trade-faq


-Brooke’s webinar on the donkey skin trade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbGhSwqwbqI&feature=youtu.be


-SPANA’s work on the donkey skin trade: https://spana.org/donkey-skins/

-Welttierschultz Gesellschaft e.V (WTG)’s work on the donkey skin trade: https://welttierschutz.org/eilmeldung-esel/

[1] https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/sites/uk/files/2019-12/under-the-skin-report-english-revised-2019.pdf [2] https://welttierschutz.org/esel/ [3] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/science/donkeys-africa-china-ejiao.html [4] https://www.thebrooke.org/our-work/donkey-skin-trade-faq [5] https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/what-we-do/issues/donkey-meat-skin-and-milk/full-report [6] https://welttierschutz.org/esel/ [7] https://www.thebrooke.org/sites/default/files/Images/2%20to%201%20ratio/Countries/Kenya/Brooke%20East%20Africa%20donkey%20skin%20crisis_0.pdf [8] https://spana.org/donkey-skins/ [9] https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/what-we-do/issues/donkey-meat-skin-and-milk/full-report [10] https://www.thebrooke.org/sites/default/files/Images/2%20to%201%20ratio/Countries/Kenya/Brooke%20East%20Africa%20donkey%20skin%20crisis_0.pdf [11] https://welttierschutz.org/esel/

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