Demand for ejiao has soared — which is bad news for donkeys

The world's first donkey changed the course of civilisation

There are expected of be 14 million fewer donkeys alive worldwide 15 years from now. Picture: iStock

‘The bridge of asses’, the famous geometry theorem, defeated many a pupil. Most unfairly, children unable to grasp it were dismissed as ‘dunces’. Even the ‘law’, despite its majesty, can be ‘an ass’. The American expression, ‘a pain in the ass’, refers to the back passage. But the name has an ancient lineage; ‘asimus’ is the Latin for ‘donkey‘. It also meant ‘blockhead’ in Roman times.

‘The Devil’s walking parody on all four-footed things’ is a much maligned creature. The world’s first beast of burden, domesticated five to seven thousand years ago, it changed the course of civilisation, even helping to build the pyramids of Egypt. On Palm Sunday, Christ called for a ‘colt’, a young ass, to ride into Jerusalem. Columbus took six donkeys with him on his second voyage to the New World. 

The much loved ‘asal beag dubh’ is not native to Ireland, but if tourist postcards are an indication, it’s our unofficial national animal.

A most successful species, there are around 40 million donkeys worldwide. Over half of them are in Africa. But their future there is uncertain. The Pan-African Donkey Conference, held in the Cote D’Ivoire last month, focused on the welfare of this long neglected animal. Although a donkey moratorium was adopted by African Union heads of state following a previous conference, it is poorly enforced.

Africa once supported up to 27 million donkeys but, according to the donkey charity BROOKE, numbers are falling. There are expected of be 14 million fewer donkeys alive worldwide 15 years from now. So many people still depend on them, however, that donkeys are not at risk of extinction.

One reason for their decline is the ever-increasing demand for ‘ejiao’, a substance derived from donkey skins, used in traditional Chinese medicine. According to BROOKE, at least 5.9 million donkeys are slaughtered worldwide to provide it each year. The Chinese donkey population has been decimated. Demand is now being met using global supply chains.

In the late 18th Century, the Jesuit missionary Dominique Parrennin described how ejiao is produced. Water was taken from a closed and guarded well, to prepare this ‘ass-hide glue’ for the Chinese Emperor. The mysterious substance, used in cosmetics, was extracted from the skins of recently-killed donkeys soaked in the water. It could also be derived from cow-hide or pig-skin but, apparently, ejiao from skins other than those of recently-killed donkeys has an unpleasant smell.

Once used only by the great and the good, ejiao is available to everyone nowadays. Demand for it has soared in the 21st century, which is bad news for donkeys. An illegal trade in skins has mushroomed.

The donkey is believed to be descended from the ‘African wild ass’, which lived in the deserts of Ethiopia Somalia and Eritrea. Now almost extinct and critically endangered, less than 500 African wild asses remain. A relative, the ‘Indian wild ass’, roams the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. Once found throughout desert regions in India, there are thought to be around 8,000 wild asses there today. Their decline is mysterious. The Maharajas didn’t hunt it, nor did British colonial officials.

"Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey." – Animal Farm.