Mexico

In partnership with the World Horse Welfare formerly known as the International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH), the Sanctuary has been working in Mexico since 1991.

The donkey is often classified as the poor man's horse. However, donkeys provide enormous support to their owners as they are used for carrying tools to fields, carrying wood, maize, straw, water, construction materials, dung for fertilizer and for transporting people. Donkey are also used for hauling carts piled high with rubbish to dumps.

We are based at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and are able to hospitalise a small number of sick donkeys if necessary. From here, we operate three mobile clinics throughout Mexico City and various states throughout the country.

Our overseas team offers free routine veterinary care and help owners improve the working conditions for their animals. This includes vaccinations, dental and farrier work as well as emergency treatment of road traffic accident victims. Within a 12 month period, we provide over 47,000 free veterinary treatments to working donkeys and mules in Mexico.

Workshops benefit waste tip donkeys

By Philippa Davies - Posted on 14th March 2011

Tagged:  

• Mexico

Workshops on donkey and horse care are taking place at the huge ‘Neza’ rubbish dump on the outskirts of Mexico, where the equines are used to pull carts loaded with waste.

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Research on how donkeys end their lives

By Philippa Davies - Posted on 24th November 2010

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• Mexico

A project has begun to find out more about people’s attitudes to donkeys at the end of their working lives.

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Helping prevent donkeys being sold on to San Bernabe

By Philippa Davies - Posted on 3rd November 2010

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• Mexico

Communities whose ill and injured donkeys often end up being sold for their meat value at the San Bernabe livestock market in Mexico are benefiting from veterinary treatments and education on donkey care and welfare.

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Our work with donkeys in Mexico takes us into some of the most beautiful places the country has to offer – but also some of the ugliest. Our four mobile teams (three in Mexico City and the fourth based in the Veracruz region) make regular journeys into remote areas of the countryside, where there there are large populations of donkeys serving very poor communities. The nearest vets are many miles away and most of the people can’t afford to pay for their services anyway. Our mobile teams offer veterinary treatments and farriery, and educate owners on how to prevent illness and injury in their donkeys.

By contrast, our work also takes us to the massive rubbish dumps near Mexico City. As well as the council’s refuse collection lorries, privately-run donkey and horse-drawn carts arrive piled high with rubbish. Poor families spend their days searching for recyclable materials which they can sell on to make a few pesos – some even live on the rubbish dump. Here much of our work involves improving harness, which is often very poor.

Another important site for us is the San Bernabe market, about 60km west of Mexico City. Much of the livestock traded here is in good condition but some dealers also sell badly-injured donkeys, horses and mules just for their meat value. These animals fetch slightly more money if brought to the slaughterhouse still alive, and many suffer horribly during the journey to the market, the loading and unloading process, and during trading.

About our work

The Donkey Sanctuary started working with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Mexico (UNAM) in 1983. An initial worming programme led to the setting-up, in 1988, of the first mobile unit travelling to villages around Mexico City. In 1990 the International League for the Protection of Horses (now called World Horse Welfare) also came on board and began paying half the costs so that horses could be treated too. Today we have six veterinary staff, three farriers and four education/extension officers based in Mexico City at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. They travel to the city rubbish dumps where donkeys and horses work, as well as to rural communities much further afield, offering veterinary treatments, hoofcare and community education. We can also use UNAM’s veterinary facilities for treating donkeys, horses and mules, and training student vets in equine medicine. We have a separate base in Veracruz, in the east of Mexico, with two veterinary staff and a training centre. Education and farriery is carried out by visiting staff from Mexico City.