28 September 2026
High profile people write to Amazon UK in support of Brooke's campaign to end the donkey skin trade
Celebrities, broadcasters, veterinary professionals, academics, and animal welfare advocates have signed an open letter to John Boumphrey, Amazon’s UK and Ireland Country Manager, supporting Brooke’s petition and its campaign to end the donkey skin trade.
Our open letter to Amazon
We write as public figures and animal welfare advocates in support of Brooke’s campaign to end the cruel donkey skin trade. Together, we ask Amazon UK to publicly acknowledge the concerns raised by 60,000 members of the UK public through Brooke’s petition and to commit to removing and prohibiting the sale of ejiao products on Amazon Marketplace UK.
As Brooke has approached you about several times, ejiao is a gelatine made by boiling donkey skins and is used in some supplements, foods and cosmetic products. Its production is fuelling a global trade that causes immense animal suffering and devastating harm to communities that depend on donkeys for transport, access to water, education, farming and income.
Across parts of Africa, Asia and beyond, donkeys are being stolen, transported in appalling conditions and brutally slaughtered for their skins.
When a donkey is taken, a family can lose far more than an animal: they may lose their means of earning a living, carrying goods, reaching markets, accessing essential services and keeping children in school. This is a hidden trade, but its consequences are painfully visible for the people and animals affected by it.
Ejiao products remain available on Amazon Marketplace UK
It is noted that, while Amazon UK does not sell these products directly, ejiao products remain available through third-party sellers on Amazon Marketplace UK. Given Amazon’s scale, reach and influence, this presents both a serious responsibility and a powerful opportunity: to show leadership by ensuring that its marketplace does not help sustain a trade linked to animal cruelty, community harm and wider concerns around biosecurity and disease transmission.
We also echo Brooke’s concerns arising from its recent scoping work, including correspondence with the Food Standards Agency. This work raises serious questions about the continued availability of ejiao products to UK consumers through third-party sellers, particularly where products made from or containing donkey-derived gelatine may fall within rules governing products of animal origin and their import into Great Britain.
'The public is asking Amazon to act'
The British public is rightly known for its concern for animal welfare. The people who have signed Brooke’s petition are asking Amazon UK to listen and to act. Other platforms have already taken steps to remove ejiao products from sale. If one of the world’s most recognisable retailers were to do the same, it would send a clear and important message that cruelty has no place in modern commerce.
We therefore urge Amazon UK to publicly acknowledge the petition and the concerns it represents; remove ejiao products currently available on Amazon Marketplace UK; and introduce a clear policy prohibiting future listings of products made from or containing ejiao.
This is a chance for Amazon UK to demonstrate compassion, responsibility and leadership. By acting now, Amazon can help stop horrifying cruelty, reduce demand for ejiao, protect donkeys and support the vulnerable communities that rely on them every day.
We hope Amazon UK will respond constructively and urgently.
Yours sincerely,
Signatories
Chris Packham
Joanna Lumley
Annette Badland
Deborah Meaden
Flavia Cacace-Mistry
Anthea Turner
Jodie Prenger
Dr Scott Miller BVSc MRCVS
Rory Bremner
Jenny Seagrove
Aly Vance
Dr Emma Milne BVSc FRCVS
Dr Julian Norton BVSc FRCVS
Danny Chambers MP
Esme & David Higgs
Sam Dracott
Gemma Stevens
Prof. Delia Grace Randolph
Professor Food Safety Systems
Natural Resources Institute
Prof. Jonathan Rushton
Professor of Economics of Animal Health at the Roslin Institute
University of Edinburgh
Dr Anthony J Booker, MSc PhD MRSC FLS
Honorary Lecturer, UCL School of Pharmacy
Honorary Professor Robyn Alders
Development Policy Centre, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University; Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Infectious Disease & Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University
Prof. Ilan Kelman
Professor of Disasters and Health
University College London
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