Demand for ejiao has decimated the donkey population in China and is associated with the unsustainable, cruel and often illegal global skin trade.
Understanding ejiao, the product driving demand for donkey skins
Ejiao (pronounced uh-jee-ow), also known as 'colla corii asini' or 'donkey-hide glue', is a key ingredient in traditional Chinese remedies. It is produced from the collagen extracted from donkey skin.
The collagen is mixed with herbs and other ingredients to create bars, pills or liquids for consumable goods or beauty products.
Booming demand, but a limited supply
The ejiao industry has experienced significant growth over the past decade. Between 2013 and 2016, the annual production of ejiao increased from 3,200 to 5,600 tonnes, a yearly growth of over 20%.
It is impossible to definitively know the number of donkeys required to keep up with current levels of demand for ejiao. Figures reported from within the ejiao industry vary, and the largely unregulated and often illegal nature of the donkey skin trade makes it impossible to obtain precise statistics.
However, research by the University of Reading suggests that an estimated 4.8 million skins were required to meet the 2016 production rate.
The ejiao industry can source approximately 1.8 million skins domestically, meaning that 3 million donkey hides must be sourced through the global skin trade.
The ejiao industry has had no alternative other than to rely heavily on the global trade in donkey skins, which has caused this global crisis for donkeys.
The impacts of a limited supply of donkeys
The global donkey skin trade has many far-reaching catastrophic repercussions.
Donkeys are suffering, and their populations are being decimated. Communities are losing treasured companions and face risks to their health and local ecosystems, and criminals are capitalising on legal ambiguities for their own ends.
A future for the ejiao industry?
The global skin crisis brings suffering and hardship for millions of donkeys and the communities who depend on them.
We believe that the demand for donkey collagen must be met through humane and sustainable methods.
We are encouraging ejiao manufacturers to Stop the Slaughter and End the Donkey Skin Trade by moving away from using collagen from real donkeys to collagen produced in laboratories with cellular agriculture processes.
To support this, we are raising awareness of this safer, cleaner and humane technology and awareness of the needless cruelty, devastation and risks associated with the global trade in donkeys for the collagen extracted from their skin.
Help stop the slaughter
Join us on our mission to end the donkey skin trade.
Page references
- Between 2013 and 2016, the annual production of ejiao increased from 3,200 to 5,600 tonnes: The Donkey Sanctuary (2019) Under the Skin: Update on the global crisis for donkeys and the people who depend on them. 10.
- 4.8 million donkeys slaughtered: Bennett & Pfuderer (2019) Demand for donkey hides and implications for global donkey populations. Discussion paper presented at: Agricultural Economics Society, 93rd Annual Conference. (15-17 April 2019). Warwick University, Coventry, UK.
- The ejiao industry can source approximately 1.8 million skins domestically: China Daily (2018) Shortage of donkey skin breeds TCM fakes. Cited in: The Donkey Sanctuary (2019) Under the Skin: Update on the global crisis for donkeys and the people who depend on them. 12.