People’s Choice Award 2026 Gold Over £50Million
Our 'Stop the Slaughter' campaign to end the global trade in donkey skins is the single biggest donkey protection initiative we have undertaken in over 50 years of operation.
More than 5.9 million donkeys are slaughtered every year to produce ejiao, a Traditional Chinese Medicine made from the collagen in donkey skins.
Many of these donkeys are cruelly stolen from communities who depend on them for their livelihoods, to meet growing demand from the ejiao industry.
Donkeys suffer at every stage of the trade; from being taken, transported or forced to walk long distances and held in overcrowded pens, before being cruelly slaughtered.
Despite the horrific scale and impact of the skin trade, and the existential threat it poses to donkeys, it is still a relatively unknown and under-reported animal welfare disaster.
Hear from Esther and Josephine, two donkey owners in Kenya, about the devastating loss of their donkeys in this film created by our in-house team.
The Donkey Sanctuary exists to create a better world for donkeys and mules.
As an international animal welfare charity, our work spans the globe.
We provide lifelong care to over 6,500 donkeys in the UK and Europe, through our sanctuaries and guardian homes, and we reach millions more globally through our international programmes and partnerships.
We run projects with partners all over the world, including dedicated donkey clinics in Kenya and Ethiopia, and we have offices in Nairobi, Addis Ababa and Mexico City.
As well as providing clinical care and training, we also run vaccination campaigns, teach harness-making, and pioneer projects to improve access to water and education, reduce environmental degradation and transform the lives of both donkeys and the communities who rely on them.
In the UK, we have a long history of rescuing and rehoming donkeys who've suffered neglect or cruelty – giving them hope by finding secure, long-term homes or, for those needing ongoing specialist care, a place in one of our sanctuaries.
We align with the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
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