Heinous slaughter of 5 million donkeys to make elixir!
According to published official statistics, every year around 4.8 million donkeys are sacrificed worldwide for the trade of their skins, and the final destination of these skins is China.
Online news: According to official published statistics, every year around 4.8 million donkeys are sacrificed worldwide for the trade of their skins, and the final destination of these skins is China.
In recent years, the use of a substance called Ejiao, which is considered a traditional medicine in China, has become popular. Therefore, the population of donkeys in China has faced a significant decrease in recent years, and on the other hand, the ajiao production industry is expanding due to its great popularity. In such a situation, traders seek to buy and kill more donkeys at any price.
Every year, the Chinese import the skins of millions of donkeys from Africa to make traditional medicines.
What is Ajiao?
Collagen is extracted from donkey skin, which is used to produce ajiao, a substance used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Ejiao is an old and ancient medicine that is hundreds of years old, and after this product was shown in a Chinese TV series, its use has become popular in the modern world. This medicine is made from gelatin extracted from the skin. It is made from donkey and its main customers are women who use it as a tonic to enhance fertility and treat dizziness, insomnia and other ailments. Interestingly, there is no clear scientific evidence on the effectiveness of ajiao to treat and improve these problems.
Illegal donkey skin trade
In western countries, donkeys are usually in zoos and farms; But all over the world, these animals play a role in the livelihood of more than 500 million people. Especially in Africa, these animals are used to carry water and food.
But in the last decade, with the increasing demand for buying donkey skins in China, the population of donkeys in this country has been decreasing.
On the other hand, the biology of donkeys is such that it is impossible to breed them in large numbers like animals such as cattle, and the emerging industry of ajiao production in China requires between 2.3 and 4.8 million donkey hides annually. For this reason, the Chinese have started importing donkeys from Africa and this incident has brought many controversies.
According to this report, 4.8 million donkeys are killed worldwide every year because of this trade, and the demand for donkey hides is so high that the traders do not even spare the farmers who need their donkeys for their daily livelihood.
While only 20 countries in the world trade donkey skins with China legally, this country imports donkey skins from more than 50 countries in the world.
Donkey skin trade in social networks
It is strange that for about a year, the illegal business of donkey skin has flourished even on social networks from Facebook to YouTube, Twitter, and even Instagram, and traders are openly violating local laws, and on the other hand, popular social networks like Facebook are also trying to prevent This illegal business does not take any special action.
The algorithms used by the companies of these social networks are such that the task of finding sellers for donkey skin buyers is done easily.
According to this report, traders on Facebook are selling large quantities of donkey skins on their pages; For example, a businessman in Kenya, where the sale of these products is prohibited, has announced his readiness to sell 2,000 donkey skins. Published reports indicate that many of these sellers are in countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Ghana, where the sale of donkey skins is prohibited.
The charity's inspectors have so far found 382 traders selling donkey skins and other wildlife on online sites, with some also selling drugs, human hair and fake passports.
In this report, it is pointed out that some of these traders were also active in the dark web and many of them use drug trafficking networks to transfer donkey skins. In some cases where donkey skins have been exported legally, traders have smuggled many illegal items along with these skins.
Dr. Evan MacDonald, one of the officials of the Said Business School in England, said about this: "20% of donkey skin traders also sell other products related to wildlife, such as elephant ivory."
Recently, an anti-donkey campaign has discovered a thriving wildlife trafficking market on Facebook, where animals such as tiger cubs, leopards, African gray parrots and one of the world's smallest monkey species are being sold. has sold
Facebook's partner Meta has responded to these talks: "This is a hostile environment and the people behind these horrific activities are very focused on their activities and constantly use their tactics to evade our efforts to stop this process. They change."
They also did not respond to reports of donkeys being slaughtered and the platform used to sell their skins through countries where the practice is illegal.
Launching campaigns against the slaughter of donkeys
According to reports, donkeys caught in the trade suffer at every stage, and their slaughter methods are often illegal, inhumane and unsanitary, with many dying before being transported to slaughterhouses.
On the other hand, it is important to keep in mind that these skins may carry dangerous diseases. For example, recently a sample of skins imported from Kenya to China tested positive for MRSA.
Finally, transporting the skins of these donkeys in an unsanitary manner and improperly disposing of their carcasses causes the spread of infectious diseases and causes great damage to local ecosystems. That's why many associations have been formed around the world, which are trying to stop this harmful cycle as quickly as possible by collecting donations.
