UPDATE (6/17/23): After collecting more than 31,000 signatures calling on Amazon to remove ejiao from its platform, Species Unite has submitted our petition directly to Amazon President and CEO Andy Jassy and Head of Global Programs Robert Diznoff. We are now turning our attention to making this campaign as impactful as possible by enabling our supporters to contact these decision-makers directly. Will you join us? Even if you signed the original petition, please use the form on the right to send a letter. It only takes a minute and can make a huge difference.
UPDATE: In December of 2023, Amazon settled the lawsuit brought by The Center for Contemporary Equine Studies and agreed to stop selling ejiao in California. This is a step in the right direction but we need to keep the pressure on to make sure Amazon stops selling this cruel, destructive product once and for all.
Species Unite has been working tirelessly to draw attention to the horrors of the donkey skin trade, an international crisis that is impoverishing families in the global south and causing the collapse of the world’s donkey population. Five million donkeys are killed each year in this brutal trade, and the numbers are steadily going up. Donkeys only give birth to one foal a year, and at this rate of slaughter, they are at risk of going extinct within just four years.
The donkeys trapped in this horrific industry are often beaten to death with sledgehammers and sometimes skinned alive so that their hides can be turned into a gelatin referred to as ejiao and used in pseudoscientific Chinese medicine. Thankfully, as awareness of this issue has grown, governments are starting to take action. In February 2024, the African Union banned the donkey skin trade, making it illegal to slaughter donkeys for their skins throughout all of Africa.
The United States will hopefully follow suit and pass “The Ejiao Act,” a bill that will make the import and purchase of products containing donkey skin gelatin illegal in the U.S. However, while this important legislation is being considered by the119th Congress, right now we have the power to hold private businesses accountable for participating in and supporting this unthinkable cruelty.
American consumers can currently buy products containing donkey skin gelatin (ejiao) on Amazon Prime. Multiple sellers offer items containing this product, derived from the kidnapping, torture, and killing of innocent donkeys. This is unacceptable.
Take Action Now
Join Species Unite in speaking out for donkeys by using the form on the right to send letters to Amazon President and CEO Andy Jassy and to Amazon's Head of Global Programs Robert Diznoff letting them know that you want Amazon to prohibit the sale of ejiao and to take a stand for these innocent animals that are being stolen and slaughtered.
