Dawn Vincent, senior PR officer with The Donkey Sanctuary, spoke to Little Lotus Hearts about their organization.

Q: Tell us a little about donkeys. They are fabled to be hard working but sometimes stubborn. Many of us don't have any personal experiences with donkeys so we'd like to understand them a little better.

To me, donkeys are such sincere creatures.  They have the most kind and gentle natures and seem as affectionate as a cat or dog in my mind.  They have an inquisitive mindset and are intelligent animals.  They say you must negotiate with a donkey and that's where the stigma of being stubborn may come from--but actually, they will think before doing anything they are not sure about.

Q: Educate us about the roles donkeys play in western Europe and industrialized nations these days.

In the UK and Ireland, donkeys are mostly kept as pets but there are many "working donkeys."  Most working donkeys can be found on Britain's beaches where they provide traditional rides to children.  In Europe, donkeys have many more uses.  In Spain and Greece, donkeys are used as "taxis" carrying tourists up hills/around scenic sites; whilst in Romania etc., they are specifically bred for the meat trade in Italy and elsewhere.  Many donkeys are also used in agriculture, but we are now finding machinery is replacing the donkeys so we come across many abandoned donkeys.

Q: How does The Donkey Sanctuary look out for the welfare of donkeys in western Europe?

Our 45 welfare officers out in the field are usually the first to hear about the donkeys we take in.  They investigate reports of cruelty to or neglect of donkeys, give advice and support to owners, monitor markets and fairs, and check the well-being of all working donkeys.  Working donkeys include Britain's traditional beach donkey.  There are approx 900 today in Britain and the Sanctuary aims to ensure the donkeys are happy in their work.  We have developed a new Code of Practice for working donkeys which recommends various conditions to help maintain or improve the care given to the donkeys.  For example--a maximum weight limit of stone.

Q: What roles do donkeys play for families or communities where donkeys are working animals?

Donkeys are very important to people; in many circumstances they are the equivalent of a family car in the UK, helping with everyday tasks. Their uses range from water, wood and fuel collection, land cultivation, carrying building materials, rubbish removal and transportation of goods to and from market by means of pack transport or pulling carts.

We have core overseas projects in Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Kenya and Mexico--bringing free veterinary assistance and educational support to thousands of working donkeys and their owners every year.

Q: How are working donkeys treated in general?

My personal experience is that the owners absolutely depend on their donkeys to carry out everyday tasks, including the most simple--to carry drinking water for the family. In some cases, the donkeys are indeed a commodity rather than a pet and don't even have a name.  Nevertheless, true to all of our projects is that the donkeys are a lifeline and the loss of an animal can be devastating for the owner and their entire family. 

Mourad, our Egyptian project leader, told me the story of an 11-year-old girl who brought her donkey to our nearby clinic for treatment. She was in floods of tears because the donkey she had been responsible for since she was five had the last stages of tetanus.

Marwa was so closely bonded with her donkey that it would only let Marwa ride her. At 11-years old, this little girl was in sole charge of finding food and water each day. The donkey meant everything to her.

We gave the donkey anti-tetanus serum and gave Marwa a supply of antibiotics, but Mourad had to explain to her that her donkey's chances of survival were slim, which was so heartbreaking. Tetanus is a debilitating disease that is very difficult to overcome.

Within three days, her donkey had died. Marwa returned to the clinic, bringing her mother with her. She kindly returned the antibiotics we had given her. It was such a devastating blow to the family.

Like many owners, Marwa loved her donkey, just as much as she relied on her donkey to carry out everyday tasks for her family to earn a living. Marwa told us that she didn't want any other donkey, but her family will need another donkey, which could cost up to 1,000 Egyptian pounds.

Thankfully, there are many donkeys we are able to save. Marwa was just very unlucky that her donkey contracted tetanus.

Q: Tell us about the mobile, free veterinary clinics you offer for working donkeys.

The donkeys we help are suffering from disease, malnutrition, parasite infestations, lameness and injuries caused by poor harnessing, road traffic accidents and even hyena attacks.  Many owners are unable to afford the money, time and attention required to assist their donkey and have no option but to continue working their animal despite its poor condition.

By providing free treatments and offering advice on preventative care, including educational visits to schools, we help improve the life of the working donkey, thereby increasing its working efficiency and life expectancy, and in turn help its owner too.

The clinics can see anything from 100 to 1000 donkeys and mules in a day!  Many clinics are well established and the locals are keen to attend to receive treatments for their animals.  The political hurdles for us are that we usually need to work in a country through the veterinary universities or government for agriculture. 

Yes, we often make follow up visits as the sites we attend are regularly visited, either weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

Our projects include over 20 mobile veterinary clinics and five static clinics/sanctuaries, which concentrate on areas where there is a large donkey population, where the economy is dependent on the donkey, and where there is low economic status.

Q: How do you encourage humane treatment of donkeys in the countries you work in?

We have various methods to help get the message across, including talks before treatments commence at mobile clinics to puppet shows at schools and zoos to help children understand more about donkey care.

Amanda Gordon, from the PR Office, recently visited our Mexico project and tells a heartwarming story about children in a village called Xochimilco.

About 21 children came to The Donkey Sanctuary's educational puppet show, which was set up on a small patch of grass. The first thing Amanda noticed was that all the children were wearing their donkey badges from events the previous week! She was amazed! It meant that the children felt part of something.

After the puppet show, we asked the children, "What must you give your donkey?" The youngest child in the group, three-year-old Carlos, shouted out "Shelter!!" It gave our us goose bumps. The programme is definitely working.

Q: Do you have plans to expand into other countries in the future?

There being so many donkeys in the world needing help, we cannot reach them all through providing mobile and static clinics, so we also train vets and animal health assistants within countries so that they may improve the treatment they give to the donkeys.  By Capacity Building in this way we will reach more and more donkeys and mules in desperate need every year.

Our latest project is based in China.  Here, we hope to train vets and animal health assistants and we may consider providing mobile clinics at some point in the future, but it is very early days yet.

Q: How can people in the west help donkeys in their country and abroad?

I think it is important to raise awareness of how much information is available from The Donkey Sanctuary. 

Through years of experience we have gained considerable knowledge of donkeys and mules and we aim to share this information with anyone with an interest in their care and welfare through a variety of services and resources.

Our veterinary staff are pleased to liaise with vets throughout the world to impart advice and knowledge.  Veterinary students frequently visit our Sanctuaries and overseas projects to 'see practice' and we regularly provide lectures to students at universities and colleges.  We provide a support service to veterinary surgeons by providing clinical analysis of faeces or blood samples in the UK and Ireland.

Free training courses, booklets and fact sheets are readily available for donkey owners about general care, health and behaviour and we are happy to provide advice and support over the phone or in person by a visit from one of our welfare officers.  We also hold workshops each year covering topics such as 'when to call the vet' to the latest information on sarcoids (skin growths) and colic (abdominal pain).

Donations to The Donkey Sanctuary can be made at our website.

The Donkey Sanctuary has a comprehensive, appealing website with many photos and stories of donkeys who have been helped. They even have two donkey webcams at their Sidmouth barn.