Join Brooke USA Foundation for an in-depth webinar about The Ejiao Act on May 26, 2022 at 12 p.m. (EST) to learn from Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) and Virginia State Delegate Alfonso Lopez about the strides being taken and the future plans as our advocacy efforts continue and we curtail the Donkey Hide Crisis.

A dramatic increase in recent years of trade in donkey hides is driving demand for the widespread slaughter of these animals across Africa (with Kenya as the epicenter), Asia, and Latin America. As prices are driven upwards, black-market activities are also increasing, supplied by theft and illegal slaughter.

The treatment of donkeys in this process is often gruesome and has a huge impact on the livelihoods of people. Donkeys are being stolen, horrifically mistreated and cruelly slaughtered—sometimes in the bush or street just outside their owners’ property.

Not only are donkeys suffering and being killed at an unprecedented rate, but the loss of a donkey is crushing for the people who depend on these animals to survive. Families that lose a donkey can suffer colossal harm. The loss of a donkey for a family in an impoverished community can have devastating consequences on their ability to earn money, grow food, access water, and send children to school. Indeed, these setbacks can plunge an already poor family even deeper into poverty. 

The donkey hide trade in East Africa has reached unprecedented levels. If we don’t move fast, hundreds of thousands of donkeys will die.