Donkey skins are boiled and the gelatine extracted to produce ejiao, an increasingly popular Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is hailed as a miracle elixir in China and is heavily marketed as a cure for every-thing from anaemia to impotence despite no scientific evidence of any health benefits. Earlier this year China’s National Health & Family Planning Commission posted on its official Weibo site a blog entry titled ‘Ejiao is not worth buying ….’ stating that ‘ejiao is simply boiled donkey skin’. This sparked major social media frenzy. They were later required to retract their statement.
However, the global market is still alarmingly large: Hong Kong takes the lead as the number one export market worth US$47 million; followed by Japan at $13 million; and the USA in third place worth $12 million. Australia and Canada featured in the top ten with import values of US$4 million and $2.8 million respectively. This makes Australia the 8th largest export market in the world and it is readily available across the country.
Reporter Jenny Ma interviewed Dr. Peter Li, the Humane Society International’s China Policy Specialist. He gives us a lot of information and evidence to reveal the issue of ejiao market.
Source: by Humane Society International Australia
Source: by Humane Society International Australia
Source: by Humane Society International Australia
Source: by Humane Society International Australia
