Charity disappointed by 'backwards step' for donkeys
Posted on 4 January 2018.The Donkey Sanctuary has expressed disappointment at the news that China is reducing the import tax on donkey skins for use in traditional medicine.
Alex Mayers, head of programmes at The Donkey Sanctuary, says: “We are disappointed that the Chinese government has chosen to reduce the import tax on donkey skins. As the largest equine welfare charity in the world The Donkey Sanctuary continues to call for a halt to the trade in donkey skins.
"The Donkey Sanctuary revealed in 2017 the shocking consequences of the global donkey skin trade that has emerged to meet the demand for the Chinese medicine, ejiao.”
Alex continued: “From Tanzania to Peru, South Africa to Pakistan, donkeys across the world are being stolen and skinned in the night, their carcasses found by distraught owners and their skins imported into China.
"For millions of people in some of the world’s poorest communities, donkeys are still the main means of livelihood and sustain families by providing them with an income and independence. This latest news from China is sadly a backwards step for donkeys and for communities that rely on them.”
Find out more about our work to tackle the donkey skin trade.