For approximately the last twelve months we have been working with a team from several UK vet schools on a website called WikiVet. We are all very excited about the project as the website provides a free, online resource available to vets, vet students and allied professionals all over the world.

We would like to draw veterinary surgeons attention to a possible source of confusion in The Professional Handbook of the Donkey 4th Edition, published in 2008, which has been widely distributed by The Donkey Sanctuary.

The Veterinary Department at the Sidmouth based Donkey Sanctuary have been awarded the Tier 2 Hospital Status in accordance with the RCVS1 Accreditation scheme for veterinary practices.

Full haematology, biochemistry and parasitology samples can be analysed at the Sanctuary's laboratory. The Sanctuary offers a referral service at its fully equipped hospital in Sidmouth, Devon.

The Sanctuary has an excellent veterinary hospital designed specifically for treating donkeys. Through years of working with donkeys, the veterinary staff are able to impart this knowledge at veterinary conferences, thereby improving the treatment given to donkeys worldwide. Until a few years ago, the majority of vets tended to treat the donkey as a small horse but we have learnt that the donkey differs in many ways.