Research aims

Our research is guided by the following principles: 

• Non-invasive research - this means that we do not carry out any research that could cause pain or distress to the animals involved. For example, we do not take blood samples or other tissue samples and do not place animals under stress. 
• Multidisciplinary – drawing in expertise from wide and varied research disciplines e.g., veterinary medicine, social sciences, animal behaviour 
• Advancing donkey welfare – identifying knowledge and evidence gaps in line with The Donkey Sanctuary’s strategic aims. We work to apply our research in practice to optimise donkey welfare.  
• Following strict ethical criteria - projects undertaken in collaboration with universities must pass our own ethical approval and that of their university’s ethical committee. 
• One welfare – using a holistic view when undertaking research to identify the intrinsic links between donkey welfare, environment health and human wellbeing. 

We are working to put what we have learnt into practice on our sites, as well as sharing this knowledge with other organisations and donkey carers around the world.