Walmart-Owned Retailer Bans Donkey-Skin Gelatin

A number of companies, including online retailer Jet.com—which is owned by Walmart—have pledged to discontinue the sale of products that contain ejiao (gelatin derived from donkey hides). Proponents of Chinese medicine believe the animal product—which is widely added to candy, snacks, and beauty products—has medicinal properties. Animal-rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) released undercover footage in 2017 that revealed the cruelty necessary to obtain ejiao. “These companies learned from PETA that donkeys as young as five months old are bashed in the head and often endure a slow, agonizing death in order to produce ejiao,” PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said, “so they pulled the product from their shelves. It’s time to bust the myth that using rhino horns, deer tongues, and donkey skins does anything except cause enormous suffering.”