OPINION: From Skin to Skincare - The shocking truth behind the donkey skin trade

A few hours ago, I pressed play on a film that left me shaken. I have told and heard many stories about donkeys, but none has ever left me speechless the way Dr. Scott Miller’s From Skin to Skincare: The Shocking Truth Behind the Donkey Skin Trade did.

For the past decade, Africa’s donkey population has been under siege. What began as a commercial slaughter of donkeys for their skins quickly grew into an industrial operation, feeding China’s demand for ejiao, a gelatin made from donkey hides and marketed as a luxury health and beauty product. Between 2016 and 2020, four licensed abattoirs operated in Kenya, processing hundreds of donkeys every day. By the time the government intervened, 15 percent of Kenya’s donkey population had been wiped out.

When public protest and petitions forced the closure of the abattoirs in 2020, the slaughter mutated to an underground criminal operation. Donkeys were stolen from villages, butchered in the wild, and their skins trafficked through a network of cartels. What was once an export business became a black-market enterprise, more dangerous, desperate, and cruel.

It is into this grim reality that Dr Scott Miller, an Australian veterinary surgeon and television personality based in London, steps in. Known for his animal welfare work and public advocacy, he travels to Kenya to document the human cost of this illegal trade, a profoundly sad story of grief by the poor communities deprived of their single most means of survival in the most cruel way, but with hope that people of goodwill can play their role.

Dr Miller meets Sylvester and Veronica, a couple whose donkeys were stolen and slaughtered for their skins. For them, the loss was more than the death of an animal. Their donkeys fetched water, carried produce to market, and kept their small farm running. Without them, their livelihood disappeared.

The human cost becomes even clearer through the voices of women who lost their donkeys. Josphine, a widow, recounts her heartbreak.

“I suffered a lot in my heart because I am a widow. I used to fetch water and sand for sale to pay school fees for my children. Currently, I have a lot of problems because I have three children in secondary school, and I am unable to get enough school fees for them,” she says. Her donkey had been a lifeline, supporting her sick child and household. Its loss left her in debt, struggling to feed her family, and unable to pay hospital bills.

Theresia, who lost her husband and two weeks later her donkey, says, “I felt forsaken by my God.” With two children at university, she now borrows donkeys from neighbours, always fearing theft. The loss of her donkey has made daily survival a constant struggle.

Another woman, Angeline, caring for a terminally ill husband and her grandchildren, describes the pain of losing two donkeys.

“I used to work with my donkeys to educate my grandchildren and pay hospital bills. When they were stolen, I felt saddened and hurt… those who stole my donkeys, only God can intervene,” she says. She now relies on neighbours’ kindness and group contributions to support her family.

The chairlady of the women’s group explains how the community responds. When a member loses a donkey, they come together to fetch water, contribute to school fees, and support her family. “When a woman loses a donkey, we cry together and help her as much as we can,” she says.

“The donkey isn’t just a working animal for them; it’s a member of the family,” Dr Miller reflects. These testimonies prove it. This trade does not only strip the hide off an animal, it tears through the fabric of entire communities.

For millions of African households, donkeys are not luxuries. They fetch water, carry produce to market, and support children’s education. They ease the burden on women who would otherwise walk miles with heavy loads on their backs. Yet across the continent, this humble animal has become the target of a global market that treats its hide as raw material. The trade consumes an estimated seven million donkey skins every year.

With only forty-four million donkeys left globally, the math is terrifying. Brooke East Africa’s Regional Director, Dr Raphael Kinoti, warns, “If the illegal slaughter is not stopped, Africa will lose half of its donkeys by 2040. It is an existential threat to a species.”

Beyond the statistics lies an even darker truth. The trade thrives on theft and corruption. Most donkeys are stolen, dragged to illegal bush slaughter sites or closed abattoirs that continue to operate secretly. Some traders disguise donkey meat as beef, putting unsuspecting consumers at risk. It is not only an animal welfare crisis but also a serious public health threat. Dr. Miller calls it “anti-Robin Hood, stealing from the poor to give to the rich.”

In Kitui County, local enforcement officers, community leaders, and the county government have taken a firm stand against illegal slaughter. Dr Stephen Mbaya, County Executive Committee Member for Agriculture and Livestock, leads a rapid response team that has drastically reduced reported cases. “Donkeys are very important animals to us. They have eased the burden of women and enabled students to go to school,” he explains.

Police officers recount rescuing forty-one donkeys on their way to slaughter. These animals were taken to shelters run by dedicated veterinarians, where they are rehabilitated and rehomed. “This setup is a second family for them after they’ve lost their first,” notes Dr. Vincent Oloo, an animal welfare advisor at Brooke East Africa. Each rescued donkey represents hope restored to a family that has lost everything.

The documentary also introduces 13-year-old Rahema, a member of a Donkey Care Club supported by Brooke East Africa. She speaks with the conviction of a future leader determined to protect her community’s animals. “Stealing our donkeys when I’m around will not be easy,” she tells Dr. Miller. Her confidence reflects a generation learning that protecting animals is inseparable from protecting people.

The film also features a former bush-slaughter worker who now risks his life as an informant. His remorse is raw. “I felt remorseful. I realised it is a sin. If the international community stopped the market for ejiao, the slaughter would end tomorrow.” His words reveal a painful truth: this crisis is not born of ignorance but of international demand.

This is not just a Kenyan fight; it is a continental fight to safeguard one of Africa’s heritages! At the second Pan-African Donkey Conference in Abidjan, leaders signed the Abidjan Declaration, echoing the African Union’s 2024 directive to ban donkey slaughter for skins. For Africa’s donkeys, it is the first real glimmer of hope after years of being carted off to feed a foreign industry.

The declaration also launched the first Pan-African Strategy for the Preservation of Donkey Species, stressing their role in vulnerable communities, especially for women and children carrying water, firewood, and produce.

The trade reaps livelihoods from donkey-dependent communities while threatening public health as donkeys are slaughtered in the bush and sold as beef, risking the spread of zoonotic diseases.

For real change, the international community must act. Countries that import or sell ejiao must take responsibility. “If just one nation bans these products,” Dr. Miller says, “it could start a wave of pushback against this horrendous trade.”

Science has already made its case. Donkey skin has no unique medicinal or cosmetic benefits beyond any other type of gelatin. Yet millions of animals continue to die for a myth.

The film leaves viewers with a haunting truth. This is not just a story about donkeys. It is about dignity, justice, and the fragile link between people and the animals they depend on.

When we protect donkeys, we protect ourselves, safeguard our livelihood and secure our future. The stories of Josphine, Theresia, Angeline, and countless others remind us that behind every donkey stolen, there is a human life disrupted, a family left struggling, and a community in mourning.

To understand the full scale of this crisis and witness the resilience of these communities, watch Dr. Scott Miller’s documentary From Skin to Skincare: The Shocking Truth Behind the Donkey SkinTrade on YouTube. It is a story that deserves to be told, heard, felt and shared.

The writer is an animal welfare enthusiast and digital communications specialist.