Our approach to rescues
We provide loving care for donkeys in our sanctuaries across the United Kingdom and Europe.
Our mission is all about improving donkey welfare. While placing donkeys into our care has always been, and continues to be, a key part of delivering that mission, it is now just one of the many ways we work to improve donkey welfare. Our experience has taught us that alternatives to sanctuary care can often be the best option for some donkeys, and we work to reduce the need for us to intervene and ‘rescue’ by improving the welfare of donkeys wherever they live.
Donkeys that get relinquished into our ownership usually have complex needs that require specialist care and attention that can only be delivered in a sanctuary setting.
Making the right decisions for every donkey
Our aim is to be ever more proactive and to reduce the need for ‘rescue’ by improving the welfare of donkeys wherever they live. This includes the requirement for increased collaboration with international organisations as well as educating donkey owners to take care of their animals. The result will be a legacy of good on-the-ground welfare for donkeys everywhere.
Our activities have expanded well beyond the ‘rescue’ model. Across the globe we now provide donkey welfare education and outreach programmes. We also lobby governments and work with communities and organisations to improve the life of working donkeys.
A day in the life of New Arrivals
The path to rehoming starts from the very moment a donkey or mule comes into our care.
Not all donkeys that come to live at The Donkey Sanctuary end up being suitable for private homes. Nevertheless, we give each and every one of them as much attention as they require to help them get their best new start.
Our rescue stories
Dora's story has a happy ending but, sadly not all cases end this way. With your help today, more donkeys like Dora will receive the vital, life-saving support and care they need.
A farmer has been fined and banned from keeping donkeys and horses for 10 years after allowing the condition of a group of donkeys under his care to deteriorate to the point where two had to be put to sleep.
Foals are not always born frolicking into the world - and sadly, many who come into our care at The Donkey Sanctuary have to overcome huge hurdles. Discover three heart warming tales of foals who fought the odds.
Thanks to an amazing public response, The Donkey Sanctuary in Italy has successfully found urgent homes for most of the 48 donkeys they seized from a “hell” farm.
An update on Timmy and Tommy, rescued from their horrific ordeal and given a new life in our care, all thanks to your support.
When rescuers heard a distant bray of a donkey on a welfare call-out, they weren’t prepared for what they were about to find.
