17 donkeys rescued in Ireland

The Donkey Sanctuary is an international animal welfare charity, based in the UK, working to protect and care for donkeys and mules. What started off as a routine check of cattle tags on a Meath farm by Department of Agriculture (DAFM) officials turned into a full blown donkey rescue with a wholly unexpected twist in the tail – Storm Desmond. The farmer in question admitted to having ‘’a couple of donkeys’’ on the land; however a quick walk of the 40 acres saw this increase to 15 donkeys, with some very obvious hoof issues. The donkeys were extremely timid and difficult to approach so Donkey Welfare Adviser Cathy Griffin was called in for advice and support. The weather gods threw their worst weather at her (Storm Barney) when she visited: storm force winds, rain, hail, sleet, even snow but the show had to go on. She found 17 donkeys in all many of which had severely overgrown hooves: some certainly looked like they had never been trimmed. Some of the mares looked like they might be pregnant but there was no adult stallion to be seen, alive or dead on the land. The Donkey Sanctuary Welfare team worked with My Lovely Horse (MLH, an equine welfare group) and made a plan to round up, load, transport and assess the donkeys at their base locally.