Feral Australian donkeys are usually given a wide berth but now their skins are to be used as an aphrodisiac for Chinese women.
A Hong Kong company that specialises in traditional medicines is trying to locate up to a million donkey skins every year. Usually it gets them from South America but now it's seeking the fertile skins of some of the 300,000 wild donkeys ranging the Northern Territory.
Sydney-based exporter John Fleming is applying to hunt feral donkeys in the Northern Territory to sell overseas.
"They want the skins, but not for leather. Apparently there is a certain extract in the skin they can use for traditional medicine," he said.
Chinese traditional healers use donkey skins to extract Ejiao, which is used to make Nu Bao, a traditional Chinese medicine that supposedly improves vitality, increases a woman's libido and help with period pain.
"They're after a lot of donkey skins. As much as they can get their hands on," Mr Fleming said.
"It seems there are a lot of feral donkeys out there and people are basically shooting them for sport."
-- The Metro
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