Donkey welfare in Ireland hit hard by cost of living crisis

We are currently dealing with the rising costs of caring for the over 1,700 donkeys across our farms, holding bases, and guardian homes, and stretching to meet the demands of the urgent community support to donkeys abandoned, neglected, and in need.

Our Country Manager, Laura Foster, explained:

“Donkeys have a special place in Ireland’s heart and history. Despite that heritage, like all pets, sadly they can be viewed as a luxury when people fall on hard times. In short, when we suffer, they suffer.

“As this will be one of the toughest winters in living memory for many, we expect a sharp rise in the need for our support out in the community, and among our guardian homes.”

“As a charity, we are limited in our ability to reach all donkeys requiring support at the best of times. By the end of October this year, we had carried out 905 repeat welfare interventions, compared to 721 at the end of October 2021. It is inevitable that dependency will increase over the winter, and we are deeply concerned about the scale of the welfare issue ahead of us.

“We are only just entering the winter period and many guardian homes have already closed this year. This puts huge pressure on our sanctuaries, which are already full to capacity and coping with rising costs of feed and other essentials.”

In a message to supporters and members of the public, our charity is repeating the need to refer cases of abandonment and neglect to the right services.

“Firstly, for donkeys in crisis, it is vital that people call their local Garda station and / or the national animal welfare helplines, as these bodies are authorised to enforce the animal welfare and control of horses acts,” Foster explained.

“Secondly, we would encourage any owners needing help to call us for advice and support - we are here to offer assistance whenever and however we can.

“Finally, we are already seeing a drop in income; any support, in the form of donations or by adopting one of our donkeys as a Christmas gift, goes directly to helping us fund our services.”

National helplines for reporting animal cruelty/neglect: