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How China’s demand for donkey hide is devastating African communities

Posted by Patricia Lumba on 27 April 2025 2:40 PM CAT
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By Adolfo Arranz, Han Huang and Farah Master
Published April 16, 2024  11:30 GMT+3
 
 

China’s demand for a traditional medicine known as e-jiao is fueling the slaughter of millions of donkeys every year, say animal welfare groups and veterinary experts.

E-jiao, which is made using collagen extracted from donkey hides, is the vital ingredient in food and beauty products believed by many Chinese consumers to enrich the blood, improve the immune system, and prevent diseases.

Reuters spoke to more than a dozen experts, including veterinarians and academics, to examine how demand for e-jiao is rippling across communities in Africa, which rely heavily on the donkey, and how the trade in hide continues to boom despite efforts by some African nations to restrict it.
Read more: https://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/testfiles/2024/9JMXvyfqabs7/https://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/testfiles/2024/9JMXvyfqabs7/

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How the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry is driving the donkey to extinction

Posted by JUDITH DORA AKOLO on 19 April 2024 3:35 PM CAT
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How the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry is driving the donkey to extinction

By Judith Akolo

Experts are raising concern that the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry is driving the donkey into extinction. They warn that the misconceived notion driven by unproven myths from the East that products from donkeys help women stay young and are an aphrodisiac for men could see the “beast of burden” exterminated from the face of the earth.

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6th IPCC report: human activities are pushing planet earth beyond its limits

Posted by Kelvin Momanyi on 13 August 2021 12:30 AM CAT
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On 9th August 2021, the IPCC (intergovernmental panel on climate change) released their sixth assessment report which consists of contributions from each of the three IPCC Working Groups and a Synthesis Report, which integrates the Working Group contributions and the Special Reports produced in the cycle.
 
The first instalment from working group 1, "Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis" is available and key highlights are:
  • The report shows that emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are responsible for approximately 1.1°C of warming since 1850-1900
  • The report also shows that human actions still have the potential to determine the future course of climate.
  • The evidence is clear that carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main driver of climate change, even as other greenhouse gases and air pollutants also affect the climate
  • Stabilizing the climate will require strong, rapid, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and reaching net-zero CO2 emissions.
  • Limiting other greenhouse gases and air pollutants, especially methane, could have benefits both for health and the climate
  • The report shows that every corner of the planet is already being affected and it could get far worse (see attached regional fact sheet for Africa)

An article by SBS News, published by Evan Young on 12th August 2021, provides good suggestions on what each of us can do to push forward action on climate change such as:
  • Vote for climate action - vote for a politician that prioritizes climate (among other things) when next at the ballot box
  • Power up with renewables - pivoting your home and business energy sources towards renewables
  • Talk with friends and family - conversations about climate change can be transformative in the social space
  • Speak up at work - the workplace is another setting where the ideas, decisions, and actions of individuals can have a ripple effect
  • Re-think how you get around - options such as using bikes, using public transport,  getting an electric vehicle if you have the means etc.
  • Switch your bank - keeping your money with someone that doesn’t invest with high-emitters is one of the most direct ways your money can affect the climate
Further reading 
 

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