Shortage of Donkeys in Africa

Africa curbs donkey exports

📷Universal Images Group via Getty Images/Giovanni Mereghetti

Chinese demand for gelatin is decimating donkey populations in Africa, prompting officials to curb exports of the animals. Donkey skins have long been coveted in China for their use in traditional medicines and luxury beauty products, which became more mainstream as incomes rose in the country. But slaughtering donkeys robs rural African families of animals they rely on for farming and transportation, and their numbers have fallen by half in some countries compared to a decade ago. The rapid declines led the African Union this month to adopt a continent-wide ban on donkey hide exports, as the head of an animal protection organization called the animals a “means of survival in Africa.”