Hambos and Nakis are two unwanted, and slightly troublesome, donkeys that came to us earlier in the year.Their owner was having problems with both the stallions escaping near a very busy main road and obviously concerned both the safety of the donkeys and vehicle drivers.
Our office responds to hundreds of concerns and enquiries from all over Europe, and this number tends to increase during the tourists season. Long hooves, lack of water, food or shelter, and injuries are the most frequent concerns and we always appreciate people taking the time to contact us. Obviously, long hooves need dealing with and often we can arrange for this to be done. Providing shelter and 24-hour water can often be very difficult areas to deal with.
You may have read in previous newsletters that The Donkey Sanctuary Cyprus receive enquires, advice requests and welfare concerns from all over Europe, as well as those in Cyprus. Whenever possible, we collaborate with other organisations in other countries to try to get help to donkeys in need.
Recently we were able to assist a donkey on Naxos Island, Greece. Bouboulina, an elderly donkey, had been rescued by Naxos Animal Welfare Society as she had extremely badly neglected hooves and was in very poor condition.
By the time you read this, we'll be taking a well-earned break from the first half of our Community Programme. As usual, the temperatures in July and August make it incredibly hard work for two of the team - our vet and particularly our farrier. Rasping teeth and spending most of the day bent over trimming very hard donkey hooves is not easy.
Meet Sam, a stunningly beautiful 8 year old gelding, who came to us as a stallion with some behavioural issues and a reputation for escaping. A few years ago, a very kind man rescued him from a life of awful abuse. It took more than two years for him to gain some of Sam's confidence but, being a young stallion, the owner knew Sam needed more help to improve.
Also, the little donkey became an expert at rolling under the electric fencing and, living close to a main road, there was a real danger of him being involved in an accident.
Moses was previously captured on film opening the truck door which we shared with you recently. Well, this time he’s been caught closing the back door as well as opening it! The best bit was as he had his head in the back of the truck, one of his carers told him ‘Moses, get out of there’ and he promptly did and shut the door afterwards!!
You can watch him up to his antics in this video..
It was only last December that we retired Lonnie from our Adoption Scheme due to his advancing years and so it came as a terrible shock to us when he suddenly died less than an hour after calling our vet. The only indication we had that something wasn’t right was that he didn’t want his breakfast that morning. Nothing else seemed amiss but knowing that a donkey that won’t eat is an ill donkey, we rang the vet straightaway.
It’s inevitable, having so many very elderly donkeys in our care that we have to say goodbye to those that have reached the end of their lives. While each and every one is special to us, we wanted to pay tribute to two of our beloved residents that many of you would have known.
Shibilli’s reputation was not a good one in any of the villages in the area he lived! We knew him from our Outreach and had first-hand experience of how difficult he could be. Despite being a health 20 year old working donkey, when the owner couldn’t look after him anymore, not one person wanted him! The owner contacted us and it was with a little trepidation that we set off to collect him just before Christmas.
The Donkey Sanctuary's partnership with Eurogroup for Animals launched an important project to ensure the EU’s 6 million horses and 1.5 million donkeys are covered by species specific legislation. In 2015 the recommendations were published in a ground breaking report titled "Removing the Blinkers". Recently we were delighted to hear from Eurogroup for Animals that MEP Julie Girling's report on Equine welfare has been adopted by the European Parliament.
