Donkeys: Invisible Pillars of the Global Economy
There are approximately 40-50 million donkeys in the world, with the vast majority living and working in low- and middle-income countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Donkeys are indispensable to the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, carrying water, firewood, and agricultural goods across terrain inaccessible to motorized vehicles. Yet they are among the most neglected animals in global welfare discourse — invisible to much of the world, overworked, and increasingly threatened by a growing global trade in donkey hides.
500M+
People who depend on donkeys
~4.8M
Donkeys slaughtered for hides/year (2020s)
10yrs
Projected halving of global donkey population
Population Crisis: The global donkey population is shrinking rapidly, driven primarily by the ejiao (donkey hide gelatin) trade. Organizations including The Donkey Sanctuary project the global donkey population could be halved within a decade if current trends continue.
Working Donkey Welfare
The overwhelming majority of donkeys are working animals. Their welfare challenges are largely a function of poverty: owners who depend on their donkeys for survival cannot always afford veterinary care, proper nutrition, or equipment, even when they care deeply about their animals.
Common Welfare Problems in Working Donkeys
| Issue | Prevalence | Impact |
|---|
| Overloading / excessive work demands | Very common | Chronic musculoskeletal pain, exhaustion, early death |
| Harness and tack injuries (ill-fitting equipment) | Extremely common | Wounds, abscesses, lameness, chronic pain |
| Dental neglect | Very common | Pain, difficulty eating, weight loss, secondary health problems |
| Hoof care neglect (overgrown/untrimmed hooves) | Common | Lameness, pain, reduced mobility |
| Inadequate water and feed | Common in drought-affected areas | Dehydration, malnutrition, immune compromise |
| Skin diseases and parasites | Very common | Discomfort, secondary infections |
| Working sick or injured | Common where veterinary access is limited | Prolonged suffering, worsening conditions |
Key Insight: Donkeys are stoic animals that mask pain and illness effectively — a survival trait that means suffering often goes unrecognized by owners. Education about donkey behavior and pain indicators is a crucial welfare intervention.
The Ejiao Trade: A Growing Crisis
Ejiao (阿胶, pronounced "eh-JEE-ow") is a traditional Chinese medicine ingredient made by boiling donkey hides to produce a gelatin. Historically a product of limited use, ejiao has been aggressively marketed in recent decades as a luxury health supplement and beauty product in China, creating enormous demand that far outstrips the domestic Chinese donkey population.
Scale of the Trade
- China's domestic donkey population has fallen from approximately 11 million in 1990 to under 3 million today due to the ejiao trade
- This has driven sourcing to Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where donkey hides are bought — often cheaply — and exported to China
- An estimated 4-5 million donkeys are slaughtered for their hides annually; The Donkey Sanctuary estimates demand requires 10 million hides per year
- Countries including Ethiopia, Nigeria, Senegal, Brazil, and Pakistan have seen significant donkey populations depleted
Welfare Concerns in the Ejiao Trade
- Donkeys are often transported long distances in poor conditions before slaughter
- Slaughter methods at many facilities are inhumane, with pre-slaughter stunning inconsistently applied
- Theft of working donkeys is widespread in affected communities, devastating livelihoods
- Animals destined for slaughter may travel weeks on foot or in crowded transport with inadequate food and water
Community Impact: In communities where donkeys are the primary form of transport and agricultural labor, donkey theft for the ejiao trade has caused economic devastation. Women and children who rely on donkeys to collect water and carry goods to market bear the hardest burden when donkeys are stolen or sold.
Legislative Responses
Several countries have taken steps to protect their donkey populations from the ejiao trade, though the global legal landscape remains fragmented.
| Country | Action | Status |
|---|
| Kenya | Banned donkey slaughterhouses and hide export | Ban enacted 2020; enforcement ongoing |
| Ethiopia | Banned donkey slaughter for export | Multiple bans; enforcement challenges |
| Senegal | Banned slaughter and export of donkeys | Enacted; patrol and enforcement challenges |
| Niger | Banned slaughter | Enacted |
| Botswana | Banned hide export | Enacted |
| Tanzania | Banned slaughter | Enacted |
| Brazil | Some state-level bans | Partial |
Progress: Multiple African nations banning donkey slaughter and export represents significant momentum, though enforcement remains challenging and the trade continues to adapt routes to avoid bans.
Donkey Intelligence and Emotional Lives
Donkeys are often stereotyped as stubborn and unintelligent, but research and observation reveal them to be highly sentient animals with rich social lives, strong memories, and genuine emotional needs.
Cognitive and Social Characteristics
- Memory: Donkeys have exceptional long-term memory and can recognize individuals (including humans) after years of separation
- Problem-solving: Studies show donkeys can solve multi-step problems and use tools to access food rewards
- Emotional bonding: Donkeys form deep pair bonds and show signs of grief when bonded companions die; separating bonded pairs causes significant distress
- Stoicism vs. suffering: Their stoic nature (they rarely vocalize pain compared to horses) masks suffering that can be missed by caretakers — welfare assessments require specialized knowledge
- Play: Donkeys engage in play behavior throughout their lives, indicating positive welfare states when conditions allow
Research Finding: Studies by The Donkey Sanctuary and others have demonstrated that donkeys show measurable cortisol stress responses to isolation, harsh handling, and painful conditions. Their stoicism does not indicate insensitivity — it reflects evolutionary adaptation.
Key Organizations and Interventions
The Donkey Sanctuary
The Donkey Sanctuary (UK-based, founded 1969) is the world's leading organization for donkey welfare, operating in over 35 countries. It runs working animal welfare programs, advocacy campaigns against the ejiao trade, research into donkey behavior and health, and direct rescue and rehoming services.
Brooke (Action for Working Horses and Donkeys)
Brooke works with communities dependent on working equids (horses, donkeys, mules) to improve animal welfare while supporting livelihoods. Operating across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, Brooke trains community animal health workers, improves access to veterinary care, and advocates for better working animal policies.
SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)
SPANA provides free veterinary care for working animals in Africa and the Middle East, including donkeys, and runs community education programs on animal care.
Key Interventions That Work
- Community Animal Health Worker training programs that extend basic veterinary care to remote areas
- Harness and tack improvement programs (better-fitting equipment prevents most wound-based welfare problems)
- Dental care outreach (routine floating prevents chronic dental pain)
- Water access improvement (donkeys working near water sources have dramatically better welfare outcomes)
- Income diversification support for communities, reducing pressure to sell or overwork donkeys
The Case for Donkey Welfare as a Development Priority
Donkey welfare is not a luxury concern — it is directly tied to human development outcomes. When working donkeys are healthy and able to work, families can access markets, children (especially girls, freed from water-carrying duties) can attend school, and agricultural productivity increases. Donkey welfare is a poverty alleviation issue as much as an animal welfare issue.
Evidence: Brooke studies in Ethiopia found that when working donkeys receive basic healthcare and owners are trained in animal care, donkey workdays lost to lameness decrease by over 40%, directly improving family incomes and agricultural output.
What You Can Do
- Support The Donkey Sanctuary, Brooke, and SPANA through donations or volunteering
- Avoid ejiao-containing products (look for ingredient lists in traditional Chinese medicine supplements and beauty products)
- Raise awareness about the ejiao trade among friends and family
- Advocate for legislation in your country banning the import of donkey hides and ejiao products
- If you encounter a working animal in poor condition, contact local animal welfare organizations