Donkey rescue


Tiddlypom said:
Wtf 😳? They get their hands on your own donkeys too if you return the DS donkeys for any reason?
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If you own (and observe) donkeys you really do understand the bonding thing. The rules are well meaning and have some logic behind them.

Many years ago a (titled) couple in my village adopted a couple of donkey - put them in with some sheep without proper introductions - and when a donkey kicked (and killed) a sheep sent them straight back. Funnily enough the couple bray when proudly telling the story.

Maybe the rules are just a reaction to dealing with years of stupid people?
 
Tiddlypom said:
Wtf 😳? They get their hands on your own donkeys too if you return the DS donkeys for any reason?
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I spoke to a senior member of staff there a few years ago (I think about ?8/9yrs ago) when I was being given a tour by a friend who was seconded there for a research project. The senior member of staff said that in the ideal world ALL donkeys in the UK would be owned by the DS, as that is the only way that they would be assured a safe future. I thought it was at the least rather arrogant of them to think that they are the only people in the country who can meet the needs of donkeys.

I lived fairly near the DS many years ago and they had strict rehoming criteria then, but seem to have got even worse. The few people near my parents (in East Devon) who have donkeys all own them privately having been turned down for adoption. They are kept in the lap of (donkey appropriate) luxury by well off retired couples so I really can't see why the DS saw any of them as unsuitable. As previous posters have said though, I expect some of these owners will still leave £££ to the DS despite being turned down as adopters (and one of the couples have told my parents they are already looking into it).

AFAIK they still do work with donkeys abroad, and I wish they would spend less of their money on posh lorries etc and more of it on care and vet treatment in the third world countries where donkeys are still worked hard and live unnecessarily short lives.
 
Reminds me of a story my late father told me. He lived in Switzerland at the time and a well known local man died leaving a vast amount of money to the Donkey Sanctuary. My father thought it would be nice if he went over to Devon to present the cheque in person thinking they would be grateful, particularly as it came from abroad and was a very large sum. But apparently they didn't appear to be particularly bothered, just took the money and that was that.
 
nagblagger said:
Does any one else think it's odd that noone has defended the donkey sanctuary...
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I did - and there were quite a few likes!

Let’s put it this way, they have raised the standards for donkeys in this country, so if they get some things wrong then I will take it as part of the package.

Most equine research, etc in this country is funded by rich racehorse owners and the racing industry, which have quite different needs, but tradionally this hasnt been recognised, so if there is someone supporting donkey welfare then great.

Everyone makes their own decision what to do with their own money and if they choose to give to the DS, who are we to whinge?
 
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Snow Falcon said:
I visited the sanctuary in Sidmouth a few years ago (donkeys aren't really my thing but thought my boys may enjoy it).

The place was souless and the donkeys we saw had no grass, just sterile chipped areas. We didn't stay long.
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Donkeys actually do much better on very short (or no) grass. They are little EMS factories.
 
I'm going to defend them!

My neighbours got two donkeys who lost their home as part of the HS2 land grab. Two became three rather unexpectedly.

One is what I would call a standard donkey (the Nativity type) but the other two are a shaggy long haired type. During COVID their normally quiet footpath was heaving and they were reported to the RSPCA multiple times for the donkeys not having enough grass and looking moth eaten. The donkeys were fat and the shaggy ones look moth eaten all year.

The Donkey sanctuary actually came and visited (on request) and gave loads of useful advice - esp about worming - and confirmed they really couldn't be on the grass like the general public wanted. I don't think they gave the owners any bother and it's a pretty scruffy set up.

There are loads of donkeys kept in unsuitable conditions so I have some sympathy with them not wanting to re-home if financially they don't need to
 
From my knowledge of other species rescues, rehoming is usually the core of what they do because they do not have the option of keeping it all. But rehoming is aso a hasse because it goes wrong animals get returned with worst issues and so on. I think if all rescues had the money and space to just keep anything that came into there care they would likely choose to do that as it would make there lives easier.
 
On a side note about the sanctuary taking in animals. The regional Northern bod also told me that no matter how well the donkeys have been kept, on entering the sanctuary something wrong WILL be found. It looks better for them if every "rescue" donkey has been suffering. We were discussing my donkeys at the time, at a show, and my prizewinning donkey would have been found to have been cruelly beaten in the past, why? Because he had scars on his hind quarters, only visible when freshly clipped. These scars are found on many donkeys and are from them scratching themselves on blackthorn hedges. I know this because my friends home bred animals all had the same kind of scars despite living the best life.

Teeth are another good one for them to find as nearly all small donkeys have wonky mouths due to lack of room for teeth. Even regular dentals cannot hide this genetic problem.
 
Cortez said:
Donkeys actually do much better on very short (or no) grass. They are little EMS factories.
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I've been considering moving my EMS horse home and getting him a mini Sh*tland for company.....perhaps I should find a donkey instead (the neighbours are keen on the donkey idea but I'm not sure how my horse would feel!)
 
Snow Falcon said:
I visited the sanctuary in Sidmouth a few years ago (donkeys aren't really my thing but thought my boys may enjoy it).

The place was souless and the donkeys we saw had no grass, just sterile chipped areas. We didn't stay long.
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Cortez said:
Donkeys actually do much better on very short (or no) grass. They are little EMS factories.
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As Cortez says, plus their hooves (the donkeys' not Cortez's 😂) differ from those of horses and they cope very badly with wet ground. I was told by staff at the DS that when they rehome donkeys they need concrete, sand or chipping areas in their new home for the winter and shouldn't be turned out on pasture (when it's muddy) as hoof problems arise so easily. This is one of the reasons they struggle to find 'suitable' homes (and they don't seem to trust rehomers to judge when to take them off the grass, but want more of a uniform 'they are penned for these ~6 months of the year' rule), but the research that they have carried out into donkeys' hooves has aided the advice and care they give to owners/donkeys in the third world.

In the summer/dry weather the DS does turn the donkeys out on grass, you can see fields and fields of them in the local area.
 
Snow Falcon said:
The place was souless and the donkeys we saw had no grass, just sterile chipped areas. We didn't stay long.
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SilverLinings said:
As Cortez says, plus their hooves (the donkeys' not Cortez's 😂) differ from those of horses and they cope very badly with wet ground. I was told by staff at the DS that when they rehome donkeys they need concrete, sand or chipping areas in their new home for the winter and shouldn't be turned out on pasture (when it's muddy) as hoof problems arise so easily. This is one of the reasons they struggle to find 'suitable' homes (and they don't seem to trust rehomers to judge when to take them off the grass, but want more of a uniform 'they are penned for these ~6 months of the year' rule), but the research that they have carried out into donkeys' hooves has aided the advice and care they give to owners/donkeys in the third world.

In the summer/dry weather the DS does turn the donkeys out on grass, you can see fields and fields of them in the local area.
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I happened to divert from the Coast Path to the DS cafe via the chipped areas. These are indeed soulless. My preferred description would be 'depressing' both for people and the donkeys. There is nothing for the donkeys to do. No enrichment whatsoever. No variation of terrain. Roll on some tracks ...
 
Arzada said:
I happened to divert from the Coast Path to the DS cafe via the chipped areas. These are indeed soulless. My preferred description would be 'depressing' both for people and the donkeys. There is nothing for the donkeys to do. No enrichment whatsoever. No variation of terrain. Roll on some tracks ...
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The ones at the main site seemed (when I last visited in winter pre-covid) to be housed in a way that was primarily designed to show them off to the public rather than entertain the donkeys or enrich their lives. They were in concrete yards with open-fronted barn areas, and there was nowhere they could escape from the sight and sound of the public. As the DS attracts a lot of young children (and noisy adults) this seemed like a fairly miserable way to spend the winter. It is nice they are kept with their friends/pair bond, but they just stood around with nothing to do for days on end.

The yard, straw and donkeys were lovely and clean and smart, but that seemed to be more something that enriched the visitors' day than that of the donkeys. In this day and age I was surprised there were no toys or novel feeding systems, or even a hard core track they could access away from the public. Not all of the donkeys live in the public areas, but the other barns didn't seem any more interesting.
 
SilverLinings said:
The ones at the main site seemed (when I last visited in winter pre-covid) to be housed in a way that was primarily designed to show them off to the public rather than entertain the donkeys or enrich their lives. They were in concrete yards with open-fronted barn areas, and there was nowhere they could escape from the sight and sound of the public. As the DS attracts a lot of young children (and noisy adults) this seemed like a fairly miserable way to spend the winter. It is nice they are kept with their friends/pair bond, but they just stood around with nothing to do for days on end.

The yard, straw and donkeys were lovely and clean and smart, but that seemed to be more something that enriched the visitors' day than that of the donkeys. In this day and age I was surprised there were no toys or novel feeding systems, or even a hard core track they could access away from the public. Not all of the donkeys live in the public areas, but the other barns didn't seem any more interesting.
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It would be a win/win for both the donkeys and the visitors if the donkeys had improved enriched accommodation. The donkeys lives would be more interesting and they wouldn't be simply standing around bored out their minds. The visitor experience would be more interesting, valuable, educational etc if the donkeys had enriched accommodation. There is little difference between the DS pens and zoos of old except the donkeys have great views, sea air, companions and a few months in the fields.
 
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