Ejiao and the Donkey Hide Trade, CRS Report (R47441), CRS, Mar. 3, 2023.

Pervaze A. Sheikh, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
Elisabeth Lohre, Research Assistant

SUMMARY

Ejiao and the Donkey Hide Trade

Ejiao (eh-gee-yow) is a popular traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that is derived from gelatin found in donkey hides. Users of ejiao consider it a blood tonic and may take it to enrich blood, cure anemia, stop bleeding, improve the immune system, prevent cancer, and treat insomnia and dizziness, among other purposes. The demand for ejiao has increased significantly in recent
years, overwhelming the Chinese supply of donkeys (Equus asinus) and leading suppliers to slaughter donkeys in developing countries and export their hides to China. The donkey hide trade centers on Asia, the Americas, and Africa. Suppliers slaughter donkeys in several countries in these regions and export the donkey skins to factories in China for ejiao production. According to some estimates, between 2.3 million and 4.8 million donkeys are slaughtered annually for their hides to support ejiao production.

At this rate, several stakeholders assert that legal and illegal donkey hide trade might threaten the global and certain regional populations of wild and domesticated donkeys. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reported that the global donkey population increased from 41.9 million in 2001 to 53.0 million in 2021; however, global data showing an
increase in donkeys may conceal decreases in certain regions or in countries with smaller donkey populations. For example, the donkey population in Botswana declined approximately 70% (351,421 heads to 104,536 heads) from 2011 to 2021, prompting some stakeholders to assert that the donkey hide trade is a threat to donkeys in Botswana. Decreases in donkey
populations in certain regions may not be due solely to the donkey hide trade. For example, some scientists contend that economic development and an increase of mechanized transport may drive decreases in donkey populations. Uncertainty over how various factors affect donkey populations makes the donkey hide trade’s effects on donkey populations difficult to
determine.

The trade of donkey hides can be legal or illegal, depending on where and how the donkeys are acquired and killed and whether their hides are exported directly to China. China permits the import of hides from nonedible species of Equus spp., including donkeys, from 23 countries around the world. Some of these (and other) countries, however, have enacted laws to
ban or regulate the slaughter or trade of donkeys. According to some stakeholders, these bans have increased the illegal trade in donkey hides, which some assert often parallels the illegal trade in other species. There are no formal protections for domesticated donkeys under international wildlife trade conventions, and each country is responsible for implementing
regulations and laws to address the trade. The United States has no laws or regulations that directly address the trade in donkey hides and ejiao from domesticated donkeys. The Endangered Species Act would prohibit the trade of Asian and African wild donkeys, since these animals are listed as endangered under the act. The Lacey Act would prohibit the import to
and sale of in the United States any donkey hides or ejiao that were illegally possessed or taken from wild donkeys in a foreign country. Some stakeholders note that the trade of ejiao in the United States is fairly low compared with the trade in other countries where the demand and trade are high, such as China and Hong Kong.

The export of donkeys to China for use in ejiao raises concerns about the status of global and regional donkey populations; the effects of donkey scarcity for communities in developing countries; the potential for the trade to transmit zoonotic diseases; and China’s influence in Africa, as Chinese suppliers target several countries in Africa for donkeys. These concerns
are shared by some in Congress. A bill introduced in the 117th Congress and cosponsored by nine Members (H.R. 5203) would have banned the sale or transport in interstate or foreign commerce of ejiao or products containing ejiao. Congress might consider several approaches to address the donkey hide and ejiao trade. These approaches may include (1) enacting
legislation that would ban the import and export of ejiao into and out of the United States; (2) supporting programs and activities to reduce demand for ejiao; (3) assisting in activities that support the sustainable, legal trade of donkey hides in developing countries; and (4) providing resources to improve data collection on the legal donkey hide trade and to investigate
the illegal donkey hide trade.

(To be continued)

https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R47441.pdf