Last week we worked with An Garda Siochana in a community case involving a young, un-microchipped donkey tied to a tree in Cork city.
Donkey welfare adviser, Ciara O'Kelly, travelled to Cork and The Gardai was with the donkey when Ciara arrived.
Ciara says: "Teenagers had been seen hitting the donkey and trying to jump on his back. It was evident that the animal had been traumatised and was very distressed. I could tell he was a young stallion - barely one years old."
Ciara assessed that the young donkey had been tied to the tree since the evening before, and that his head collar was causing him pain. The stallion was nervous, but Ciara's experience with handling donkeys in distress enabled her to get close enough to feed him. She was also able to scan for a microchip but, like so many abandoned donkeys, she failed to find one.
Working with the Gardai
The Gardai worked with Ciara to get the donkey to safety. This collaboration with local authorised agencies is so important to removing donkeys and mules from terrible situations and, where possible, ensuring human accountability.
Sadly, the donkey welfare crisis in Ireland means options for onward rehoming are limited. Ciara says: "We will continue to work towards the best possible outcome but working in crisis mode is making it difficult to tackle this growing problem."
We would like to thank The Gardai for their support and the member of the public that alerted them. The little donkey was named Shane after the officer who took part in his rescue.
Where is Shane now?
Since that day, we've worked with My Lovely Horse Rescue to transport Shane to safety. Although our sanctuaries are under huge pressure, My Lovely Horse Rescue were able to take Shane into their care. We will continue to offer our full support for rehoming and further care.
How to report a welfare concern
To enable us to continue our community support work with authorised agencies, we encourage anyone who witnesses a donkey suffering or in poor health, in the first instance, to contact the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's national helpline, the ISPCA's national cruelty helpline, local authority, or local Garda station.
- Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine national helpline: 01 607 2379 / 076 106 4408
- ISPCA national animal cruelty line: 1890515515
