Clarence Ford speaks with Jonno Sherwin, the founder of Karoo Donkey Sanctuary.
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Donkey skins are used to create ejiao which is used for traditional medicine in China
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Sherwin says the demand for donkey skins is leading to a donkey genocide
According to Sherwin, there is a donkey genocide taking place and these animals are being slaughtered five times faster than they are breeding.
Donkey skins are used in China to create “ejiao” from the gelatin under the donkey skin.
People boil it and mix it with herbs to make traditional medicines.
In China, the local donkey population has been severely depleted, and they have begun relying on exports from other countries, particularly from Africa.
The global donkey population is about 44 million, while about five to eight million are slaughtered annually in China.
On the current trajectory, the entire species could quite easily be wiped out in the next five to ten years.
Jonno Sherwin, Founder – Karoo Donkey Sanctuary
The massive demand for donkey skins in China has led to an illegal market.
What is happening in South Africa – and actually throughout Africa – is that the rural communities are either forcibly selling their animals because of the threat of theft, or their animals are being stolen.
Jonno Sherwin, Founder – Karoo Donkey Sanctuary
The way these donkeys are killed is extremely cruel, says Sherwin, with the animals bludgeoned, skinned, and their carcasses left behind.
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