Donkey Skins

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Did you know that there is some real value to be found in the skin of a donkey?

I did not.  Until I read this:

A ban on the trade of donkey skins announced by the African Union could set a precedent for curbing illegal wildlife trade through the Middle East, conservationists said.


The Middle East and North Africa region is a key transit route for trafficked wildlife, with skins typically exported to the Far East to be used in alternative medicine. The funds are often funnelled into illegal criminal networks.



It has apparently grown thru the years into an increasingly large problem:

But the trade in donkey skins has stripped rural working communities across the region of a vital component of everyday life, with animals slaughtered and skins sold to lucrative Asian markets.


Donkeys are often stolen from communities for ejiao, a traditional Chinese remedy used to reduce wrinkles and boost libido. It is made from collagen extracted from the animals' skins.



Stealing donkeys for slaughter - what jerks.


"Ejiao"

That is a new word for me.

Ejiao (pronounced uh-jee-ow), also known as 'colla corii asini' or 'donkey-hide glue', is a key ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine. It is produced from the collagen extracted from donkey skin.


The collagen is mixed with herbs and other ingredients to create bars, pills or liquids for consumable goods or beauty products.


(https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/end-the-donkey-skin-trade/what-is-ejiao)



China’s demand for ejiao seems to be prodigious. Their own stocks of donkeys have collapsed by 76 percent since 1992, and its annual supply of about 1.8 million donkeys cannot produce enough skins for a surging market which now demands at least four million lives a year. In fact, if the current pace continues, more than half of the world’s donkeys would need to be slaughtered in the next five years to feed China’s demand for ejiao.


(https://www.oscarsplace.org/post/what-exactly-is-ejiao-and-why-is-it-in-such-high-demand)



We (the people of the world, collectively) are on track to slaughter half of the world's donkeys for a beauty product?  WHAAAAAAT?


How dumb is that!  What a waste.


Reminds me of how the invading whites decimated the North American buffalo population pretty much solely for the hides.  If depictions such as in "Dances With Wolves" are correct, the buffalo meat was just left to rot out on the plains.


Is it fair to compare buffalo hunting with donkey extermination?


From a stupidity standpoint, yes!



Grace & Peace & Love to you all -


Matt



p.s. I found donkey bars on Amazon: