John,

6 million donkeys are brutally slaughtered every single year all to feed demand for ejiao, a so-called miracle product made from donkey hides.

These sweet creatures are kidnapped from their communities, then poachers bash their heads in with sledgehammers – or even skin them alive.

It’s gut-wrenching cruelty but we have a chance to finally make it stop.

The African Union (AU) has a major summit coming up and with enough pressure we can make sure that enforcing a donkey-saving ban is firmly on the agenda! So we’re gearing up to launch a major pressure campaign with winning tactics like ads, polling, and a media blitz targeted at key decision-makers – then we'll keep fighting to protect all animals from cruelty.

But we can’t do it without your support. Will you chip in to help stop the brutal donkey torture trade? 

I'll donate $3I'll donate $4 I'll donate $5I'll donate $9I'll donate another amount

 

Across many areas of Africa, owning a donkey is a lifeline, lifting families from extreme poverty. They help carry water, firewood, and food, often giving women and girls the chance to go to school or earn a living.

But thanks to skyrocketing demand for the gelatin made from boiled donkey hides, this cruel trade has ballooned completely out of control. Criminals steal donkeys from families, often hurriedly killing them with hammers or skinning them alive in forests, then ship them abroad in pieces.

Too often, losing a donkey to traffickers forces women and children to take on the strenuous work once done by the animal. The consequences can be deadly, which forced the AU to take action last year when it banned donkey hide exports. It was a historic step toward eradicating this donkey horror trade. But despite the ban, the killing hasn’t stopped.

Instead, it’s driven the trade underground as illegal traders rush to cash in, fueling violence as they rip donkeys from communities that depend on them. 

What’s needed is the political will to take on this problem head-on, properly investigate the donkey trade and put resources towards ending it once and for all.

Which is where we come in: together we can force REAL action, launching strategic polling across key countries in advance of the next AU summit, taking out hard-hitting digital ads targeting key decision-makers, and working with local communities to place unignorable media stories highlighting this crisis.

Our team is ready to launch and we’re in a final push to get the resources to pull it off. Will you chip in to help us put key decision-makers on notice that enforcement is non-negotiable – and fight to defend all animals from cruelty? 

I'll donate $3I'll donate $4 I'll donate $5I'll donate $9I'll donate another amount

 

Your donation will help power Ekō and our campaigns worldwide fighting for people and the planet.