Ejiao Act would ban sale of the gelatin product made from donkey skin
Supporters bray this bill passes.
Context
Ejiao, pronounced uh-jee-ow, is a gelatin made from donkey skin with applications from cosmetics to traditional Chinese medicines to food.
There’s no reliable peer-reviewed evidence of ejiao’s purported medicinal values. Nonetheless, for both medicinal and non-medicinal purposes, demand has surged in recent years, worldwide but particularly in China. (Here’s a YouTube video with 17 million views about how to make ejiao cake.)
At the same time, China’s own supply of donkeys has plummeted, from 11 million in 1992 to about 2.6 million today, or only half of the ejiao annual demand. So trade for donkeys has turned to foreign markets including the United States, with the animal’s population particularly crashing in Brazil and Africa.
The tide seems to be turning somewhat against the products. eBay stopped selling ejiao products in 2017. One of the top countries for donkey exports, Kenya, banned slaughter of the animal in 2020. However, this was reversed by a Kenyan court in May, on a technicality related to legal procedural issues.
What the bill does
The Ejiao Act would ban the intentional sale or importation of ejiao in either foreign or interstate commerce. This means it would remain legal to sell ejiao within the same state where it was produced, an area in which Congress generally can’t legislate since it’s considered a state issue.
It was introduced in the House on September 10 as H.R. 5203, by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA8).
What supporters say
Supporters argue ejiao is an immoral product leading to the potential endangerment of an innocent species.
“The international trade in donkey-hide gelatin products is leading to the mass slaughter of donkeys and widespread harm to impoverished communities around the world, and Congress should take action to halt all importation of those products into this country,” Rep. Beyer said in a press release. “More and more people in poorer countries are seeing animals upon which they depend stolen and killed to meet demand from the ejiao trade. The [U.S.] should take action and help shut down this illicit trade that leads to substantial harm to humans and animals worldwide.”
GovTrack Insider was unable to locate any explicit statements of opposition, although presumably both ejiao producers and users would be opposed, citing the products’ purported benefits and freedom of commerce.
Odds of passage
The bill has not yet attracted any cosponsors. It awaits a potential vote in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
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This article was written by GovTrack Insider staff writer Jesse Rifkin.
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