Six Million Donkeys Slaughtered for Chinese Medicine: Charity

File image of a worker delivers a donkey's skin for curing at a licensed slaughterhouse specialised in donkeys in Baringo, Kenya. (Photo by TONY KARUMBA / AFP)

Almost six million donkeys are slaughtered annually for Chinese medicine, with severe knock-on effects for African villagers who rely on the animals, a UK-based charity said on Thursday.

It is driven by an increase in China’s production of ejiao — a product marketed as a health supplement that utilizes collagen from donkey skins — which is a $ 6.8 billion industry, according to China-based research firm Qianzhan.

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by Agence France-Presse

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