Amazon under pressure to ban donkey skin products
Animal welfare coalition, including Brooke in the USA, outside Amazon's Virginia headquarters.
Animal welfare groups, including Brooke in the USA, have delivered over 370,000 petition signatures to Amazon this week, to ban its sale of donkey skin products.
A coalition gathered at Amazon’s Virginia headquarters on 16 October 2024 to deliver the petition, asking the organisation to stop selling ejiao, a gelatine made from donkey hides used in cosmetic products.
An estimated five million donkeys are slaughtered every year to meet the growing demand for ejiao.
Jim Hamilton DVM, Chairman of Brooke USA, 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."
Global demand for the donkey 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.
Amazon must set the example and remove all products containing ejiao from its online platform.
The demonstration was preceded by a rally in Metropolitan Park by organisations including Ekō, Brooke USA, Animal Welfare Institute and Humane Society Veterinary Medical Alliance, Humane Society of the United States, American Wild Horse Conservation, American Association of Equine Practitioners and American Fund for Alternatives to Animal Research.
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.
A global movement has been launched by Brooke USA to stand against Amazon’s sale of eijao.
Brooke is calling for a global ban on the trade, including the enforcement of current bans and a crackdown on cross-border trade.
I hope that our action and the outcry of over 370,000 people finally convinces the company to do the right thing for both the impacted families and the donkeys.
Lacey Kohlmoos, Senior Campaign Manager at Ekō, said: “It’s outrageous that Amazon continues to allow the sale of ejiao products on its site, fully aware of the brutal conditions.
“Donkeys are being stolen from families and then subjected to dehydration and broken bones, before being bludgeoned to death and skinned."
A Brooke farrier with a donkey in Kenya.
The trade not only subjects animals to suffering, but devastates communities in developing countries around the world who depend on them for their livelihoods.
In February 2024, thanks to lobbying from Brooke and other animal welfare organisations, the African Union opted for a continent-wide ban of the trade.
Brooke is continuing to work with governments and policy makers to protect donkeys around the world from unnecessary suffering.
Learn more about the donkey skin trade.