Newsdate: October 21, 2024 - 11:30 am
Location: ARLINGTON, Virginia

Animal welfare advocates representing millions of people around the world gathered at Amazon HQ2 to hand-deliver over 370,000 petition signatures demanding that Amazon ban the sale of ejiao, a gelatin made from donkey hides. 

Burro with her young foal.

Global coalition of animal welfare groups delivers over 370,000 petition signatures to executives, urging the company to stop selling donkey hide products.
© 2018 by Grace Kahler New window.

An estimated five million donkeys are required every year to meet the growing demand for ejiao. This trade requires inhumane transportation conditions for the animals and impacts the livelihoods of families in rural communities across the globe.

While eBay banned ejiao from its platform in 2017, Amazon has not wholly responded to the global call to act, despite meetings with issue experts and pressure from animal welfare organizations, including Rep. Don Beyer’s Ejiao Act (H.R. 6021) in Congress to ban the importation and sale of ejiao across the United States.

A global coalition of organizations, including corporate accountability group Ekō, Brooke USA Foundation, the Animal Welfare Institute, the Humane Society of the United States, the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Alliance, the American Wild Horse Conservation, the American Association of Equine Practitioners, and American Fund for Alternatives to Animal Research (AFAAR), organized a rally at Metropolitan Park.

The event was followed by a petition delivery to show company executives that customers worldwide want companies to do their part to protect donkeys and the families who rely on them.

“Any corporation whose leadership and customers care about animal welfare must reject the sale of products procured through cruelty to animals. “Ejiao” is such a product, derived from the hides of donkeys. Demand for ejiao has the potential to decimate the world’s donkey population and has caused suffering to the families who depend on the animals for their livelihoods.” said Keith Dane, Senior Director, Equine Protection for the Humane Society of the United States.

To learn more about ejiao and the donkey hide trade, visit www.BrookeUSA.org/donkey-hide-crisis, and to advocate on behalf of donkeys everywhere, especially those living in vulnerable communities worldwide, visit www.BrookeUSA.org/advocacy. 

Ekō is a global movement of consumers, investors, and workers all around the world, united together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable and just path for our global economy.

Brooke USA Foundation’s mission is to significantly improve the health, welfare and productivity of working horses, donkeys and mules and the people who depend on them for survival worldwide. Brooke USA strives to alleviate the suffering and vulnerability of developing communities by implementing programs that improve the quality of life of working equines.

The Animal Welfare Institute is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1951 and dedicated to alleviating animal suffering caused by people. We seek to improve the welfare of animals everywhere: in agriculture, in commerce, in our homes and communities, in research, and in the wild.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) fights the big fights to end suffering for all animals by taking on puppy mills, factory farms, the fur trade, trophy hunting, animal cosmetics testing and other cruel industries. 

The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Alliance (HSVMA) is a program of the Humane Society of the United States that was formed as a home for veterinary professionals who want to engage in direct care programs for animals in need and educate the public and others in the profession about animal welfare issues.

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) headquartered in Lexington, Ky., was founded in 1954 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the health and welfare of the horse.  

American Fund for Alternatives to Animal Research (AFAAR) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and assisting in the development and use of alternatives to animals in all areas of science and science education.

Press release by Amy Sales