About us

Please note that we are unfortunately no longer open to the public. For enquiries please contact us.

The Donkey Sanctuary (Cyprus) is a non - profit organisation based near Limassol in Cyprus.

The organisation is a subsidiary of The Donkey Sanctuary UK, which was founded by Dr Elizabeth Svendsen in 1969. It is the largest donkey charity in the world which now operates in 27 countries worldwide.

We provide a permanent, caring home to unwanted, neglected and mistreated donkeys and mules in Cyprus. Unfortunately, due to irreparable erosion over the years and a bush fire in 2012, the site at Vouni closed in October of the same year. The Sanctuary has operated two, privately owned Holding Bases since 2010 and a third was opened in October 2012 where the remaining donkeys from Vouni now live.

Sadly, due to escalating running costs, lack of funds and the expense involved to comply with EU and Cypriot legislative requirements, we are not in a position to create a new Visitor Centre. The Holding Bases are therefore not open to the public.

Our work started in the country in 2004 when we began providing annual grants to help fund the work of Friends of the Cyprus Donkey, a charitable organisation run by Mary and Patrick Skinner.

In 2007, Mr and Mrs Skinner decided to retire from their donkey work and we then officially established The Donkey Sanctuary (Cyprus) so that we could continue and develop the vital work that they started helping the donkeys on the island.

Our work in Cyprus is funded by public donations and there are many ways of helping the Sanctuary: Spreading the word, adopting (sponsoring) one of the rescued donkeys or simply sending a donation all helps us to continue our vital work.