Half of the world's asses can be slaughtered within the next five years. This is due to an increasing demand for chinese medicine made on the æselskind.

The chinese middle class continues to grow explosively and is among the fastest growing in the world. 20 years ago, the middle class two percent of the population, while in 2013 had grown to 39 percent. Within the next three years it is expected that the figure will be almost doubled. With more money also comes a greater demand on everything from houses to cars and more expensive clothes.

however, It is also a traditional chinese medicine, such as ejiao, that bl.a. is made on the æselskind, and to improve blood circulation and blodmanglen.

the Problem is that there are not enough donkeys in China to meet demand. The country imports therefore, more and more of the asses, from the rest of the world.

Right now there are 4.8 million asses the battle to produce the chinese medicine. Continues the demand to rise, will verdensbestanden be halved within five years.

And it is a development that bears several implications with it, shows a new report from the Donkey Sanctuary.

Since 2007, the number of donkeys decreased by 28 percent in Brazil, 37 percent in Botswana and 53 percent in Kyrgyzstan. In China, the figure is 59 percent.

another problem is the way in which asses are being shipped from all over the world to China. It is done under highly dubious circumstances, says the World Animal Protection Denmark.

"It is completely ludicrous that trades and transports animals on the way. It belongs nowhere at home. They stand in the many days crowded together on too small areas without food and drink, so that up to 20 percent die just on the way to the slaughterhouse. It is quite terrible, and it must be stopped now," says the director Gitte Buchhave.

A third worrying trend shows that the price of the asses rises in countries such as Kenya, where many poor families are dependent on the animal in daily life. It increases at the same time, the risk of theft and the illegal trade in donkeys the world over.

the Fear is that the donkeys over the next few years will end up as an endangered animal, like for example skældyret because of the demand for traditional medicine made of animals.

"That in 2019 continues the use of animals and in many cases wild animals such as lions, tigers and bears in traditional medicine, is unacceptable. The list of animal suffering in order to meet the demand of traditional medicine is, unfortunately, very long, while the scientific evidence for the effect of the medicine is very short," says Gitte Buchhave.