The Suffering of the Donkeys – China’s Hunt for Gelatine

Castro Alves Brazil in the summer of 2021: animal rights activists are observing horrific scenes on the “Boa Esperança” (“Good Hope”) farm. Around 200 donkeys are crammed together on the farm, some have died of thirst, vultures fight over the carcasses. There is only a dried up puddle as a potion. The animal rights activists did not hesitate and alerted the police in the village of Itatim. When Lieutenant Benjamin e Silva arrives there, he is as horrified as they are.

E Silva interviews the sole employee of the farm, which is located in the arid interior of the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. He explains that the farm is leased from a Chinese and the animals should be taken to the slaughterhouse in Amargosa, 50 kilometers away. “I grew up in the country, but I’ve never seen such depressing scenes,” says the police officer, who posts his footage online. But when animal protection organizations drive to the farm the next few days to take care of the donkeys, they have disappeared without a trace.