Western Morning News (Saturday)
A day out with the donkeys... from your home
FOLLOWING the hugely successful first ‘Sanctuary From Your Sofa’ event on Easter Monday, which reached over one million people, The Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth will be hosting another day of live Facebook broadcasts this coming Bank Holiday Monday.
The donkey interaction starts at 10am and promises to be another full day of virtual visitor experiences, giving people the chance to catch up with the resident donkeys and the staff who care for them at the charity’s South Devon headquarters.
Maxine Carter, farm manager at the Sidmouth sanctuary, said: “Following the success of the Easter Monday event, we wanted to provide another opportunity for people to catch up with our donkeys at the sanctuary and find out how staff are continuing to provide the highest level of care.”
There will be five 15-minute broadcasts throughout the day, plus a pre-recorded link at 12 noon with the charity’s donkeyassisted therapy centres across the UK.
Highlights include meeting the donkeys who live in shelter one at 10am (home to adoption donkeys, Hannah, Cocoa, Timothy, Walter and Millie), followed at 11am by a live chat with visitor services assistant, Dean Hancock, who will be sharing the sanctuary’s inspiring story, from humble beginnings to an international charity.
At 1pm, people will be able to hear from the charity’s equine behaviour expert Ben Hart, who will chat about his role at the organisation, and at 2pm the cameras will visit the group of popular miniature Mediterranean donkeys in their paddock.
The final broadcast at 3pm is about the importance of keeping donkeys mentally stimulated, so adoption donkeys Ashley and Zena will be taking part in some exciting enrichment activities.
■ Visit the website www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk