Working animal charity Brooke has launched a petition asking Amazon UK to urgently ban the sales of donkey skin products on its platform.
By signing Brooke’s petition, people can help expose a largely hidden trade and build pressure for meaningful change.
Over six million donkeys are being killed each year to meet the demand for ejiao – a gelatin product used in traditional Chinese medicine and commonly found in cosmetics, which is obtained from boiling donkey skin.
In 2025, Brooke found that if the trade continues at its current rate, Africa could lose half its donkey population by 2040.
While Amazon UK doesn’t sell these products directly, they are available to purchase through third-party sellers on its marketplace.
Essential help
Donkeys are vital to millions of people, supporting livelihoods, education and access to essentials in some of the world’s poorest communities.
The skin trade is causing extreme suffering worldwide: including violent capture, long transportation without food or water, and brutal slaughter conditions for these animals.
“This trade, which most people don’t even realise exists, is causing immense suffering for both animals and people,” said Chris Wainwright, CEO of Brooke.
“When a donkey is stolen and slaughtered, entire families lose their income and lifeline overnight. This has to change.
“Amazon must take action to ensure its platforms aren’t accelerating this cruelty. So that we can help end the trade and protect donkeys – relied on by so many worldwide.”
How you can help
As well as signing the petition, the UK public can also make a difference by contacting their local MP or writing to a local newspaper.
Dr Scott Miller, ITV’s This Morning resident vet and Brooke’s Donkey Skin Trade Ambassador, witnessed the donkey skin trade during a trip to Kenya in July 2025. A film about his experiences can be viewed here.
“Speaking directly to anyone working at Amazon, I would say I understand your ignorance regarding ejiao. I didn’t know about it either until I started working with Brooke,” said Scott.
“But once you know about this product and the brutal trade that’s behind it, you will want to take action. You will want to protect some of the most vulnerable and poorest communities on this planet. By simply banning any product that contains ejiao from your platform.”
“I personally have seen first-hand how the production of ejiao devastates communities, particularly the poorest in Africa. It has a huge impact not only on women, but the health and education of children.
“Anyone that has a heart, that cares about animals and that cares about people would want to support the ban of ejiao worldwide.”
Image © Brooke.
