The Americas

The Donkey Sanctuary’s latest report on the skin trade reveals that at least 5.9 million donkeys are now slaughtered every year to meet escalating demand for ejiao, a traditional Chinese medicine, made using their skins.

Proposals to stop the slaughter of donkeys and the export of their skins in Brazil and every country in Africa in early 2024 have moved a step closer thanks to the tireless work of The Donkey Sanctuary and partners on both sides of the Atlantic.

This International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17 October), we spoke with José Legarreta from our Latin America and the Caribbean team about the importance of donkeys and mules to rural communities in Mexico. 

New research by the University of Portsmouth and The Donkey Sanctuary found that working equids whose owners believe they feel emotions have significantly better health and welfare outcomes than those whose owners do not.

The Donkey Sanctuary recently held a workshop with The Nature Conservancy in Canoas, northern Mexico, to explore ways of improving the welfare of donkeys and mules supporting an impoverished community working in forestry conservation.

Donkeys and their owners in the remote Maras district in Peru have received vital support and training thanks to a collaborative project with Innovar y Compartir (Innovate and Share), a local non-profit organisation.

Brazil has reinstated a countrywide ban on the slaughter of donkeys for export to China.

Research into the welfare of working equids in three Mexican states has underpinned their value to their communities and the importance of good donkey welfare across the globe.

Gabriel was just one of over 700 donkeys destined for the skin trade and abandoned in a holding pen in Brazil. Following our recent emergency trip to the pen, we tell their story.