Animal rights groups have welcomed a ban on the controversial donkey fur trade across Africa.
This makes it illegal to slaughter donkeys for their skins in 55 countries on the continent.
Demand for animal skins is driven by the popularity of an ancient Chinese medicine called Ejiao, traditionally made from donkey skin.
African heads of state and government agreed to the ban on Sunday at the conclusion of the African Union summit in Ethiopia.
The charity Donkey Sanctuary called the trade “cruel and unsustainable” and said donkey populations were being decimated around the world, particularly in Africa and South America.
Some believe that Ejiao has anti-aging and health benefits, but this has not been proven. The Chinese company that manufactures it uses donkey hides from China. But when domestic animal numbers plummeted, they turned their attention overseas.
“Initially, our governments saw this as an opportunity and many legal slaughterhouses were opened in Africa,” he explained. Solomon Onyango at Kenya’s Donkey Sanctuary.“But [here in Kenya] from 2016 to 2019, about half the donkeys were killed for trade,” he
said.