Donkeys are the most misunderstood and abused animals around the world.
Bonnie Jo Campbell
Last summer I visited The Donkey Sanctuary farm in Liscarroll, Co Cork. The farm is a home for 127 donkeys ( the number might have changed), but the Sanctuary has over 1800 donkeys in their care, about 500 of them re-homed. How did it happen that so many donkeys had to be rescued? Sadly, in order to claim agricultural subsidies many farmers use donkeys as a low-cost means of reaching the minimum stocking density required. The cost of castrating the young males is far higher than their value, and the donkeys that are left to fend for themselves in the fields would breed all the year round. Also, if a donkey gets sick it is often cheaper to buy a new donkey than to take it to the vet. On Done Deal website you can get a donkey for as little as €50, and often “to a Good Home free”. All of this contributes to the high numbers of neglected and abandoned donkeys nationally.
I came to the sanctuary on my way to Killarney and had less than an hour to look around and enjoy the company of sweet donkeys. I have always had a soft spot for goats and donkeys.
There is a cute picnic area in the farm, and everything is tidy and homey.
In this building you can buy some donkey-related souvenirs and make a donation. You can adopt a donkey for a donation of €25 a year.
After I made a donation, Margaret and I had a lively conversation about the Sanctuary. There are three more donkey farms in Ireland, she said, but only this one is open for visitors. They are not a breeding farm, but sometimes they get a pregnant female. No baby donkey this time though.
This cat deserves a picture. His eyes were permanently wide-opened which has probably something to do with his busy schedule as the mouse hunter in the farm.
Over the years, I have taken many donkey pictures. I often make them black and white to express the sadness I feel about the life of a donkey.
I have seen them careless and playful too.
Daddy, mommy and a little photo-bomber in background.
With his mommy a couple of months later.
Some facts about donkeys:
There are five main breeds and cross-breeds of donkey in Ireland: Grand Noir du Berry ( black donkey); hinny, the offspring of female donkey and a male horse; mule; miniature donkey, and a shaggy Poitou donkey.
Donkeys can live up to 50 years. They are social animals and it is not good to keep a donkey as a lone animal. Donkeys are stoical by nature and won’t show that they are in pain. Proverbial stubbornness of the donkey can indicate that the animal is simply afraid. Being safe is important for donkeys.
The Donkey Sanctuary was founded in 1972. Many things have changed since, and many donkeys have crossed the Rainbow Bridge, but there is a 40 years old donkey still living in the farm. The average age of the other donkeys is 10 years, which is an indication of an economic downturn in Ireland a decade ago.
Katie is a volunteer from The Netherlands. She is a donkey whisperer 🙂 Katie explained me the ‘mystery’ of the yellow and red collars: red means a boy and yellow a girl. And there are the names written on the collars!
I found a video on YouTube, Castletown Donkey Derby, 1994. It is fun but still I am sorry for the donkeys.
When a donkey brays, the other donkeys listen.
Jason the donkey brays his heart out, and I am delighted to hear his performance.
A humble man’s helper, donkey costs almost nothing to keep. A little bit of care is all he needs – hoof trimming, shelter, access to water. Civilization has used the poor donkey badly, and as if it is not enough, donkey’s meat and hide are the subject of trade in some countries.
I wish we lived in an ideal world where nobody is hungry, cold and lonely, and the ability to hurt others is erased from human genome.
Thank you for reading!
Have a great week!
Making memories 
I’ve always loved donkeys. What a cool place. I can’t believe they have over 1800! My kids enjoyed looking at all the pictures! There was lots of oohing and ahhing. 😀 I hope you are having a wonderful 2018 Inese!
Thank you so much, Antonia. Hope the 2018 is good to us. Yes, it is a huge amount of rescued donkeys. About 500 of them are re-homed and live in the foster families. The others are divided between sanctuary farms where they simply live their life and don’t reproduce, but only this particular farm in Liscarroll is open for public, and there are about 130 donkeys in there.
Thank you, it is! I hope yours is as well Inese! Oh ok, I misunderstood that. So interesting though!
Oh, poor donkeys. Because of your article, I understand Eeyore a bit more. 😊
Imelda, my middle granddaughter LOVES Eeyore 🙂
Such a wonderful post and a great way for me to start my blogging day.
Thank you so much, Russel. May your blogging days be happy 🙂
gratitude for your
speaking up
for the humble
creature & their benefactors 🙂
Thank you so much. It is always like this – irresponsible humans make a mess, and the others take it from there and deal with it. Bless them.
Terrific post! I’ve always loved donkeys and I’m glad to see these living out happy lives in a safe place.
Thank you Leila. I too am glad that almost two thousand donkeys are safe and happy.
Once again, you have hit on a topic I have never heard about. Donkeys seem to rather prevalent in Ireland. Very sad to hear of their plight, but this refuge seems like a wonderful place for them. Enjoyed the pix of animals too.
Thank you so much. Cruelty against animals is a shame of the country. People are talking about this a lot lately as everyone has a phone and can take pictures of what they see. Unfortunately the law is weak on animal abusers.
A wonderful post, Inese with so many beautiful photos! I love donkeys since I can remember. Those eyes and lovely long ears are irresistible and I especially live their stubbornness!
Sadly I’ve witnessed some bad abuse of donkeys when I was travelling in Egypt and Greece, it tore my heart out. 😦
Glad though that there are some special people who take care of them in Ireland. Thank you for showing us around the farm and their lovely donkeys! xxxxxxxxxxxx
Thank you Sarah. I don’t understand why people treat them so badly. Is it because they are so gentle and humble? I have seen those terrifying photographs of the donkeys with the overgrown hooves, 2-3 feet long. How could the owner let it happen? xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Reblogged this on Janet's thread.
By the way, whenever we go to farms, my grandies like to scratch donkey’s ears and feeding them apples. We ask owners if it is okay first. They are very gentle animals. 💞
Yes, donkeys are gentle animals. I would think twice before scratching pony’s ears 🙂
You have made a great point, Inese! I have two positive upcoming next week (after Valentine’s Day) posts with my brother Randy having improved and building his stamina! Thank you for your prayers and caring concern. He is working on a mural on a huge new Brewery wall and one in panels (for a church). 🙏 🕊 I felt a huge sense of relief this weekend.
Bless you and may you have a special 💗 Valentine’s Day, my friend!
So glad to hear that Randy is back to creating art. That’s the spirit! 🙂
Hope you have a lovely Valentine day! ❤
I’m so glad you saw these special, safe and well taken care of donkeys. I have seven grandies so right now my extra money goes to their schools, projects and fun times, too. Their parents are always close in their own budget. I was like that while younger, as a single Mom. 🤗
Robin, it is why people have grannies – to enjoy some extras 😉 ❤
Yes, my dear Inese! Wonderful for the grandies and the grannies, too! xo 💗
Donkeys are so beautiful. These are lovely pictures, Inese, as are your words of praise for such lovely gentle creatures. I can’t remember if I told you that the family who lived opposite me, when I was a child, bred donkeys. I used to love lying in bed in the morning listening to them braying. The baby donkeys were so cute. Back in 2015, I visited the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary. Here are two photos I took; not as impressive as yours, but they might be of interest to you https://sarahpotterwrites.com/2015/11/18/wordless-wednesday-happy-donkeys/
Opened your link. Dear cute donkeys 🙂 It is nice to see that their bellies are full and they look content.
They are very well looked after there, as well as the small handful of rescue Shetland ponies. My grandchildren love going to visit the sanctuary, as they live fairly near it.
Good for children, they need that contact with animals. People who learn to love animals early in their life are happier than those who don’t.
I agree wholeheartedly 🙂
“The cost of castrating the young males is far higher than their value”. That kind of blows my mind. Thanks for the info.
Yes, it is sad. Neutering of animals costs hundreds of Euro. It is a simple procedure but it is a big part of revenues for a vet.
May your wish speed to God’s ears and be filled.
Thank you Bernadette. I am afraid we have to erase the cruelty from our genes with our own hands 🙂 xx
I did not know or have any idea that donkeys are the most misunderstood and abused animals around the world. That is sad. Perhaps, that is the because many people do not hear much about them. Thank you for bringing the story about the cute animal here.
Thank you for your comment. I agree with you that people don’t hear much about donkeys. A humble donkey deserves more love and appreciation. I don’t know why some people hurt animals and think it is ok. I guess it is a direct reflection of flaws in human nature, but still we all have a choice.
What a lovely set of pics – thank you for all your fascinating facts about donkeys:)
Thank you so much. I was delighted to finally visit the sanctuary 🙂
Thank you for the pictures Inese. Such friendly animals and so abused, it”s sad and bad.
xxx Huge Hugs xxx
Thank you so much, David. Hope the grass is greener for the donkeys on your side of the sea. Many Hugs! xx
Thanks for the beautiful pics of donkeys, Inese. And the cat is so cute too. I’m glad you did this post as I didn’t know just how many donkeys are left abandoned. I was in Brazil recently and saw some dogs in really poor conditions. I can’t believe how many animals are neglected or left to fend for themselves all around the world, here in Canada too. I think people should be obligated to get a license and take a test or something before owning a pet or any kind of animal.
Thank you Carolee. I agree with you about a license issued by an animal welfare protection organisation, so that the owners were legally bound to comply, and the law could be enforced.
Thanks Inese for educating me about donkeys. They do have a difficult lot in life!
Thank you. Abuse of animals is something we read about in the news regularly, but in most of the cases the abusers walk free from court.
Unfortunately!
Beautiful post. Some of those pictures are so soulful.
Thank you so much Anabel.
Beautiful photos, Inese. I’m partial to donkeys and goats too. And I wish humans were kinder to our animal brothers and sisters. These types of places are the saving grace to so many different kinds of animals. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much, Diana. Donkeys and goats have always been pariah amongst the other farm animals. But aren’t they sweet 🙂
Yes. I was “babysitting” a farm last spring and a mama goat had quadruplets! I was “nanny goat” for a couple days until the owners got home. They have a special place in my heart. 🙂
Oh that is awesome! Goat quadruplets! I can only imagine how cute they were. What a special experience ❤