The size of the illegal online donkey skin trade has been revealed, with skins for sale on unregulated B2B websites and popular social media platforms. These findings form part of a report from  The Donkey Sanctuary, which also highlights how organised crime is facilitating the trafficking of skins for traditional medicine use. In conversation with Smile FM, Siân Edwards, the campaign manager for the Skins Campaign under. The Donkey Sanctuary says a hallmark of the trade is that the animals suffer at every point of the process – enduring brutal and inhumane conditions:

The illicit traders extend beyond websites and the deep web. The Donkey Sanctuary has uncovered dozens of social media ads for donkey skins – suggesting that digital platforms are a thriving marketplace for the trade:

Edwards explains that the trade is deeply linked TO the illegal wildlife trade. Organised criminals offer donkey skins for purchase, alongside other illegal products such as rhino horns, elephant ivory, pangolin scare and tiger hides. The Donkey Sanctuary found evidence of 382 individual traders who were offering skins, with nearly 20% of those selling other wildlife products. In some extreme cases, says Edwards, traders were trafficking narcotics or fake passports:

The report shows that 4.8 million donkeys annually suffer inhumane treatment, simultaneously devastating the communities that rely on them. Many African communities rely heavily on farming. Edwards says that beyond the wildlife aspect of the illegal skins trade, people are being put in difficult situations, forcing them to give up parts of their lives, especially women and children:

The Donkey Sanctuary is calling on all social media sites to immediately ban the sale of donkey skins and remove all existing listings from their platforms. They are also calling on national leaders to act against this crude market – ending the suffering of trafficked animals, and the turmoil of communities:

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