A Kenyan donkey has been taken into The Donkey Sanctuary’s clinic in Nairobi after suffering an “horrific” branding injury.
He suffered severe burns to his rump when his owner attempted to brand him. The animal was one of two used by his owner to transport water and building supplies by cart to the town centre, and his owner wanted to prevent him from being stolen.
The donkey was very weak and had an infected burn wound. [View picture of the injured donkey on arrival]
Vets from The Donkey Sanctuary operated on the animal to clean the wound thoroughly, gave him antibiotics and vaccinated him against the potential tetanus infection that the branding could have caused.
The wound has started to heal and he is recovering.
“The donkey has made improvements over the last three months, but is not yet well enough to leave the clinic,” said Solomon Onyango, vet at The Donkey Sanctuary’s Nairobi clinic.
“Wounds on the rump usually take a long time to heal, but we are hopeful that by September he will have recovered enough to be discharged.
“Branding is employed by nomadic tribes in Kenya and usually involves burning out an initial on the rump, which is what it appears the owner had attempted to do in this case.
“We understand that owners are concerned with reducing the risk of theft, and are pleased with this as it shows just how much people value their donkeys. However, branding is not the best way to go about this. Instead, we would advise owners to build suitable shelters for their donkeys, and allow us to teach them how to make simple halters which can be used to tether their donkeys comfortably and securely.”
For more information visit: www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk
