This week charities have been celebrating all things donkey as part of International Donkey Week (7-12 May) — centered around International Donkey Day last week (8 May).
Today (Monday 12 May) is the final day of the week that promotes donkeys in the UK and highlights the plight of working donkeys globally. There are an estimated 50million donkeys and mules in the world.
And to celebrate H&H has made a gallery of donkey images
Devon-based charity The Donkey Santuary set up Donkey Week 32 years ago to lengthen the celebration of the International Day.
“More than 16,500 donkeys have been given a sanctuary for life in the UK, Ireland and Europe,” said David Cook of the charity.
“Millions of donkeys supporting some of the world’s poorest communities have been helped through free veterinary and education interventions, and donkey assisted therapy has enhanced the lives of thousands of children with additional needs.”
H&H’s charity of the year SPANA is also promoting the work of donkeys this week.
“It’s easy for many of us in the UK to forget there are millions of donkeys worldwide that are right now being used to do the jobs of trucks, tractors and taxis in the developing world. Without this vast and often overlooked workforce, life in many poor countries would simply grind to a halt,” said Jeremy Hulme, chief executive of H&H’s charity of the year SPANA.
“Donkeys may seem to most unglamorous, but they are hardworking, stoic and hugely intelligent animals — as they say in Morocco, ‘when a horse has a problem, he goes to a donkey for advice’.”
To find out more about the worldwide work of donkeys visit: www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk and www.spana.org
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