Why are millions of donkeys being slaughtered for China every year? | Tech News [Video]

In the UK, donkeys are a bit of a curio these days. You might spot one at a city farm, or maybe giving rides on the beach. 

In Africa, where there are around 53 million of them, they are essential to lives and livelihoods. 

But in China, it is not the donkeys themselves that are sought after, it is their skin.

For years, demand from the country has led to around six million donkeys in Africa being killed annually and their skins used to make ejiao, a traditional Chinese medicine. Sold in bars, pills or liquids, it is said to ‘strengthen’ the blood, which in turn leads to a wide range of benefits from reducing wrinkles to boosting fertility.

Scientific evidence to back this up is scarce.

Nevertheless, it is so popular, China’s own donkey population plummeted from nine million in 2020 to fewer than 1.8 million in 2022. The growing gap in supply …