# Donkey Skin Trade

> The donkey skin trade kills donkeys for hides used in ejiao, driving theft, slaughter and population pressure in countries where poor families depend on working donkeys.

**Target query:** donkey skin trade

## Stats
| Stat | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Ejiao | Demand driver |
| Hides | Trade product |
| Theft | Welfare and livelihood risk |
| Bans | Policy response in some regions |

## What Is the Donkey Skin Trade?
The donkey skin trade supplies hides used to make ejiao, a gelatine product used in traditional medicine and consumer goods. Rising demand has placed pressure on donkey populations and created incentives for theft, illegal slaughter and cross-border trafficking.

## Why It Hurts Poor Communities
For many low-income households, a donkey is transport, income and resilience. Losing a donkey to theft or slaughter can remove the family’s ability to carry water, reach markets or earn daily wages.

## How Welfare Work Helps
Protecting working donkeys requires veterinary care, owner support, community awareness and enforcement against theft and illegal slaughter. Healthy, valued donkeys are less likely to be abandoned or sold under pressure.

## Ejiao and the Global Donkey Skin Trade
Ejiao is a gelatin product made from donkey hides, used in some traditional medicine markets. Demand has driven mass theft and slaughter of working donkeys across Africa and Asia — collapsing rural economies that depend on donkey labour.

## Protecting Working Donkeys from Theft
WARN's working donkey programme in Pakistan includes community awareness and veterinary support that indirectly protects against theft — healthy, identifiable working donkeys with owner networks are harder targets. See /appeals/working-donkeys.

## Why UK Donors Choose WARN — Transparent Partner Grants
WARN is a registered UK Community Interest Company (Company no. 17298990) and is not a charity, so it cannot claim Gift Aid. The donation case is transparent partner-led welfare where support reaches practical field needs. WARN states upfront that gifts fund WARN's 17-country partner network across South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Africa, Southern Africa and South America programmes through vetted local partners — not WARN-run sanctuaries. Every gift is receipted; give one-off at /donate or monthly at /donate/monthly.

## What WARN funds
- Community education on donkey welfare and trade risks.
- Mobile veterinary care that keeps working donkeys healthy and valued.
- Partner support for donkey protection in high-risk areas.
- Evidence-led advocacy against exploitative donkey trade routes.
- Community awareness and working donkey protection in theft-risk areas.

## FAQ
### What is ejiao?
Ejiao is a gelatine product traditionally made from donkey hides and used in some medicine and consumer markets.

### Why is the donkey skin trade a welfare issue?
It can drive theft, transport stress, illegal slaughter and population pressure in communities that depend on donkeys.

### How can donors help?
Donors can fund working-donkey welfare, veterinary care, community protection and advocacy against exploitative trade routes.

### What is ejiao?
A gelatin product from donkey hides used in some traditional medicine markets — driving a global skin trade that threatens working donkey populations.

### Can UK donors help stop the donkey skin trade?
Fund working donkey welfare at /appeals/working-donkeys — protecting livelihoods and raising awareness of theft risks.

### Which countries are affected?
Africa and Asia face the worst theft pressure. Pakistan working donkeys are within WARN's funded focus.

### Is the donkey skin trade legal?
Regulations vary. Many countries have banned or restricted exports, but illegal trade continues through criminal networks.

### Is WARN a registered charity?
World Animal Rescue Network (WARN) is World Animal Rescue Network CIC (Company number 17298990), a registered UK Community Interest Company — not a registered charity. See /about/registration-status for full legal identity.

Related appeal: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/appeals/working-donkeys/
Human-readable page: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/rescue/donkey-skin-trade