The Donkey Sanctuary has a dedicated team of 45 regional and area welfare officers throughout the UK and Northern Ireland who investigate reports of cruelty to or neglect of donkeys, quickly and efficiently.
They check the well-being of beach donkeys and monitor donkey derbies and horse markets.
Free advice, help and support on caring for donkeys is also provided to owners by our welfare Officers.
If you are concerned about a donkey's welfare, please contact one of our regional welfare officers.
All calls are strictly confidential.
Sometimes it takes a while for you to realise how much a donkey’s story has affected you, and that was certainly the case for me with the tale of Rupert.
One-year-old Rupert was in such a critical condition when he was discovered by the RSPCA in Morecambe, Lancashire, last week, that it was touch and go whether he would make it through the night. He was immediately signed over to us to receive the specialist care it was clear he so desperately needed.
It may be hot and sunny at the moment, but our in-house maintenance team have designed and manufactured the framework and wooden slats for panels to be fitted to the sides of one of our more open plan donkey housing areas at Trow Farm.
When ten year old donkey James was rescued after being found abandoned in Coleraine, Northern Ireland last September, he was in a pretty poor way. His neglect had left him struggling to walk on his painfully long, twisted and cracked hooves, and you could see that he was by no means a happy donkey.
Bathing and shampooing the donkeys once they have been clipped has proved an effective method to minimise their lice burden and means that we have not had to use chemicals on them with the aim of gradually lessening the resistance to the drugs that the lice have shown.
An abandoned donkey named Cookie has started a new life with a loving foster home in East Devon this month thanks to international animal welfare charity The Donkey Sanctuary.
