Alex Clark on Etsy
Donkeys are very intelligent creatures that can live for over 50 years, so it’s important they have good lives. They have wonderful memories, even recognising a donkey they met 25 years ago. Their big ears are not just to hear other donkeys in the wild, but also to keep them cool in the heat (although they don’t like the rain). They also like to live with other donkeys (and sometimes goats and horses) and like to groom each other, a bit like apes.
Donkeys are some of the loveliest creatures on earth. But because they are very strong and very tolerant, this means they suffer a lot of abuse, especially when used as ‘draft animals’ in developing countries, where cars are in short supply to carry heavy goods. Some cultures still ‘slit’ donkey noses believing it makes them breathe better, others are hit if they fall down, and many die from exhaustion in the heat. Let’s look at a few ways we can help our donkey friends across the world.
- Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary is one of England’s top places to house rescued donkeys, where they live out peaceful lives with new friends, for life. Donate £5 for a bale of hay, £15 for eye treatment, £40 for a vaccination or £60 for teeth work – and donkeys have a lot of big teeth!
- Nationwide, The Donkey Sanctuary is one of the better ‘big charities’, spending over 80% on projects, rathe than the usual 50%/60%. It has a list of poisonous plants and trees if you have donkeys on your land.
- If you are the creative type, knit or crochet harnesses to help prevent donkey nose sores.
- Send a copy of Sharing the Load (a welfare manual for working animals) to an animal shelter abroad.
- Small Animal Rescue has information on how to stop the worldwide trade in donkey skins (hundreds of thousands of donkeys have been killed for meat and use in the Chinese medicine trade).
Moving on from Donkey Rides
As well as avoiding having donkey rides abroad, don’t accept donkey rides on beaches for children either. Although the people that do this obviously care for their donkeys, most parents now believe that donkeys are better off enjoying free lives in sanctuaries, rather than standing bored on a beach, waiting to walk back and forth to ‘entertain a child’.
In the UK, The Donkey Sanctuary has to now ensure welfare checks, as many children are taller and overweight, and this could make donkeys suffer. The charity ensures one day off ‘work’ each week and yearly vet checks. But the charity says that in a few cases, their standards are not adhered to. Watch the documentary ‘In Their Hooves’ to see what it’s like to be a working donkey.
