Illegal donkey-skin trade thriving on social networks, report reveals

About 4.8 million animals are trafficked each year largely driven by Chinese demand for traditional medicine, says charity

The illegal sale of donkey skins is thriving in online marketplaces, with traders openly flouting local laws, and social media multinationals such as Facebook doing little to prevent the illegal trade, according to a new investigation.

Traders on Facebook are offering large quantities of donkey skins on the site, the report said, including one trader in Kenya, where the trade is effectively banned, who listed 2,000 for immediate sale. The report found large numbers of sellers in countries that have bans on the donkey skin trade, including Kenya, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Ghana.