Free-roaming donkeys to help conservation effort
INTREPID donkeys at a Devon charity will be venturing off the beaten path this autumn as part of a pioneering project.
Some 40 sure-footed animals from The Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth are to swap post and rail paddocks for a wild valley as part of the second Freedom to Roam trial, where they will wander freely in an area that includes hillside, woods and fields.
Allowed to explore for a total of six weeks, it is hoped that during this time the donkeys will help increase the biodiversity of the grassland, in turn giving them a varied diet and enriching environment within which to exercise.
Maxine Carter, Slade House Farm manager at The Donkey Sanctuary, said the charity is “very excited” about this latest trial, which follows on from a project that first took place in the spring. “Our donkeys from New Barn at Slade House Farm will have the choice to explore the fields further down the valley,” she added.
“The donkeys will have access to fields with a variety of grasses, with shade and shelter provided by the trees and hedge line.
“They can choose what they wish to eat, roaming and grazing as they meander down the valley, and will have access to their barn at all times, where fresh water and straw will be available.”
Donkeys primed to take part in the trial will be health checked, weighed and assessed to make sure they are fit enough to negotiate the steep hills they will be grazing, Ms Slade explained, adding: “Our teams will be on hand every day to monitor the donkeys, watch them graze and make sure they are all happy in their new environment.”
The Donkey Sanctuary’s wildlife
and conservation team have found that the vegetation in the new areas consists of mixed native species of grasses and flowering plants which are relatively low in sugars, high in fibre, and more suited to a donkey’s low energy requirements. The new area starts with a track which runs through woodland, and then out into open pasture down the picturesque Weston valley.
And visitors to Slade House Farm, the charity’s headquarters and home to around 216 donkeys, will still have a good chance of seeing the donkeys by following a designated viewing track, and have the opportunity to spot them showing more natural behaviour.
Since its foundation by the late Dr Elizabeth Svendsen in 1969, who died in 2011 aged 81, The Donkey Sanctuary has grown from a charity rescuing UK donkeys from neglect and abuse to an international animal welfare organisation transforming the lives of millions of donkeys and mules, and the people who depend on them for their livelihoods.
Celebrating its milestone 50th anniversary this year, the charity runs a total of 10 sanctuaries around the UK and Europe – including six in Devon and one in Dorset – giving lifelong care to over 6,000 donkeys and mules.