Amazon urged to stop selling donkey-skin products
“Amazon must set the example and remove all products containing ejiao from its online platform” – Jim Hamilton.
A petition urging Amazon to ban the sale of donkey-skin products on its platform has been delivered to the company’s headquarters at Crystal City, Virginia.
The petition, which had more than 370,000 signatures, was delivered by hand following a rally held in the nearby Metropolitan Park.
The rally involved organisations including Brooke USA, the Animal Welfare Institute, the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Alliance, the Humane Society of the United States, the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the American Fund for Alternatives to Animal Research, and Ekō.
Donkey-skin gelatin is used in ejiao, a traditional Chinese medicine. An estimated five million donkeys are slaughtered each year globally to meet demand for the product, including in China, Africa, and South America.
Not only does the trade in donkey skin cause animal welfare issues, it also has a negative impact on poor communities that rely on working animals. Both Brooke USA and its UK sister-organisation Brooke are calling for a global ban on the trade in ejiao.
The sale of donkey-skin gelatin products has already been banned on eBay, but they are still available on Amazon.
A bill to ban the sale of product in the USA, that was originally introduced in 2021, has been reintroduced in the House of Representatives. Brooke USA is lobbying for the legislation to be passed. Earlier this year, the African Union voted to ban the the slaughter of donkeys for their skin across Africa.
Jim Hamilton, chairman of Brooke USA, said: “The international trade in donkey-hide gelatin products is leading to the mass slaughter of donkeys, resulting in widespread harm to impoverished communities around the world.
“We should act immediately and help shut down this illicit trade that leads to substantial harm to humans and animals worldwide. The first step is to reduce the demand by shutting down product access.
“Amazon must set the example and remove all products containing ejiao from its online platform.”
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