Major airlines are flying crates of bloody donkey skins
around the globe, fueling the brutal ejiao industry.
This is the shadowy nature of the donkey skin
trade—a multi-layered operation linked to organized crime.
The same smuggling networks trafficking illicit wildlife
products and drugs are now profiting off donkeys, using air
cargo to keep the supply chain running.
Without cargo carriers transporting donkey skins, this tortuous
trade would take a major hit. The good news? One airline is taking
bold action: Emirates Airlines just adopted a zero tolerance
policy and banned donkey skin shipments.
Emirates’ move is a game-changer, disrupting the industry and
protecting donkey populations and the communities that rely on them.
Now, we need other airlines, like Qatar Airways and Turkish Cargo to
follow suit. This is our moment to turn one airline’s bold
move into a global shift, but only if we flood them with pressure
while the spotlight is still on.
Tell
airlines: join Emirates and ban donkey skin shipments now
In rural communities in Africa, donkeys vanish
overnight—stolen from families, crammed into overloaded
trucks, and transported for days sometimes without food or water.
Some die on the journey, their bodies dumped like trash. The rest
face a brutal end: bludgeoned, skinned, and shipped in
pieces, then to be boiled down into ejiao—a
gelatin used in cosmetics and fake health supplements.
The airline's role in this donkey trade can't be ignored
as it comes with serious biosecurity
risks. Donkey skins cargo can carry parasites and pathogens
that threaten livestock, and even humans. Once airborne, these
diseases can spread across continents in hours, turning airline
involvement into a global hazard.
As the world battles outbreaks like avian flu, airlines can’t
afford to look the other way. Every unregulated shipment
increases the risk of diseases spreading across
borders.
That’s why Emirates’ ban is a game-changer. It’s
the first airline to expose the hidden dangers of this trade—not
just for donkeys, but for global health. And they didn’t stop there.
Emirates partnered with The Donkey Sanctuary to create the Aviation
Risk and Threat Assessment, a crucial tool to help airlines shut
traffickers out of their networks.
By banning shipments and leading the charge, Emirates has set a
new industry standard. Now, it’s time for Qatar Airways,
Turkish Cargo, and others to follow suit. If they refuse,
they’re not just enabling cruelty, they’re endangering public
health.
Tell
airlines: Ban donkey skin shipments now
The Ekō community has been relentless in the fight against the
donkey skin trade, pressuring Amazon to drop it from its marketplace
and pushing for legislation in the U.S. And it’s working. Every
action we take brings us closer to shutting this brutal industry
down for good. Now, we need to turn up the pressure on
airlines to do their part, and join Emirates in banning donkey skin
shipments.
