Australia revealed in top 10 of donkey skin product importers

by R.T. Fitch

The new report shows that the ejiao market is expected to maintain a growth rate of 15% annually from 2015 to 2020…

Australian consumers are playing a significant role in the global ejiao market, with the Northern Territory government said to be researching donkey farming with a view to exporting skins to China.

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The Power of Pungent Herbs

By Crooked Bear Creek Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Energetically warming herbs and spices can help us spark a little fire in the body by improving digestion, boosting circulation, moving out congestion, and more. Not only that, they’re readily available in our pantries, lending themselves to some tasty medicine.

When it comes to herbal flavors and actions, many of our most potent and memorable herbs are “pungent.” Think of those foods you use in cooking to add a kick to your dishes – ingredients like garlic, onions, horseradish, ginger, cayenne pepper, black pepper, mustard, and turmeric. These all add a whopping dose of spice and flavor, but they also play an important role in herbal medicine, providing warmth and reviving bodily systems.

Heating Up The Body

Pungent herbs are particularly popular during the colder months because they boost circulation, warm our bones, enhance digestion {of those harder -to- digest starchy storage crops and meats of winter}, stimulate the senses, help move…

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Brazil Debates Fate of Millions of Idled Donkeys

by R.T. Fitch

Straight from the Horse's Heart

By Luciana Magalhaes as published on the WSJ.com

“Plans to slaughter burros to capitalize on Chinese market for vivifying ‘ejiao’ upsets traditionalists”

APODI, Brazil—The dependable donkey once did it all here in northeast Brazil, from hauling in the harvest to carrying children to remote schoolhouses. Now so many of these ubiquitous beasts of burden populate this vast swath of rural Brazil that they have become a problem—and for some, an opportunity.

Modernity and the skyrocketing sale of motorcycles have demoted the burro from its long-held status. Once cherished here for their hardy load-carrying, donkeys are increasingly seen as a nuisance as they saunter into traffic or munch greenery in people’s yards.

“Today, a donkey is born and nobody wants it,” lamented Eribaldo Nobre, 53, whose family used donkeys to lug fresh water home when he was a child. “Progress made this animal worthless.”

Enter China, where soaring demand for protein has put…

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‘It’s just boiled donkey skin’: Chinese health officials rubbish ‘inhumane’ product

Straight from the Horse's Heart

byRachael Turner as published on Horse & Hound

A popular product made from the skins of donkeys has been deemed “not worth buying” by Chinese health officials.

Demand for ejiao, derived from donkey hides, has led to the slaughter of millions of donkeys in recent years.

However, China’s national health and family planning commission recently told consumers the remedy was ,“not worth buying” and despite its many health claims is “just boiled donkey skin.”

On Sunday (18 February), the commission posted on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, that ejiao, is “..not a good source of protein” and that its health claims were at best overstated.

The news was welcomed by international welfare charity, The Donkey Sanctuary.

The Donkey Sanctuary has been campaigning for a halt to the global trade in donkey skins, which utilises around four million donkey skins every year.

It is estimated that as many…

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Donkey Sanctuary UK convinces ebay to stop selling ejiao (a traditional Chinese medicine) due to animal welfare disaster and health risks

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Workers lay the skins of freshly killed donkeys out to dry in Dong’e, northeast China, where they will later be boiled to produce gelatin sold as a fad health and beauty tonic (Photo: George Knowles)

Source: Indyonline.co.uk

Ebay bows to West charity pressure

Global giant eBay has bowed to pressure from a West Country charity and agreed to stop selling a controversial Chinese medicine.

The largest equine welfare charity in the world, The Donkey Sanctuary, based in Sidmouth, has persuaded the trading site to stop selling the Chinese medicine ejiao, which contains gelatin from donkey skin and is alleged to offer anti-ageing properties.

The Donkey Sanctuary’s chief executive, Mike Baker, wrote to eBay’s President earlier this month.

His letter highlighted the unfolding livelihood crisis, animal welfare disaster and potential consumer health risks associated with the unregulated ‘health’ product.

The Donkey Sanctuary said there were shocking consequences to the global donkey…

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The Dark Side of Chinese Medicine – Under the Skin – Donkeys at Risk

Source: The Donkey Sanctuary

Right now, millions of donkeys from Asia, Africa and South America are at risk of being stolen and slaughtered for their skins – the gelatin in the hide being a key ingredient in the prized traditional Chinese medicine called ejiao (e-gee-yow).

A new report by The Donkey Sanctuary reveals the shocking scale of this global demand for donkey skins – a demand that is unsustainable, whilst simultaneously causing mass-scale suffering to donkeys and risking the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on them.

Read here about the serious issues being faced and act now to add your voice to our campaign and help us curb this trade.

To learn more: https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/under-the-skin

Source: Under the Skin – Donkeys at Risk | Straight from the Horse’s Heart