In January 2011, 19 donkeys were rescued from appalling conditions. These donkeys were starving and had no shelter and added to that the extreme harsh weather we had in December and January. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have been superb in supporting the work we do and have even teamed up with us to rescue donkeys from such appalling conditions. The Departments officials, our vets, welfare team and lorry driver were involved in this particular case and endured hours of cold, wind, rain and knee high mud and never left the location until all 19 donkeys were rescued.

Donny arrives at our Visitor Farm in Liscarroll after making a miraculous recovery. He has fought all the odds and has made a miraculous recovery. You might remember he was just 5 days old when he came into the sanctuary in January after his mother died.

Please help the donkeys in our care by taking part in the Mini Marathon in Dublin on Bank Holiday (Monday 6th June 2011).

The entry forms are available in the Evening Herald every Wednesday and Saturday or you can register on line now at www.florawomensminimarathon.ie

So far this year we have taken in 79 donkeys, and the calls just keep coming. Every cent raised will be stretched as far as possible.

Please contact us on 022 48398 or email jacinta.oconnor@thedonkeysanctuary.ie for your sponsor card and goodie bag with t-shirt.

The County Cork site of international animal welfare charity The Donkey Sanctuary has been inundated with more than 240 donkey rescues in the last year.

The Donkey Sanctuary, County Cork, has recently been awarded a €50,000 grant from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in recognition of their animal welfare activities. This money will be used to help fund school education programmes to promote good practice in animal welfare, hopefully lessening the number of distressing animal welfare cases in the future.

The Donkey Sanctuary is delighted to announce that it has received a grant of €50,000 from Mr Brendan Smith TD, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. This is in recognition of, and as a contribution towards, animal welfare activities in the forthcoming year. These funds will be put towards our schools’ education programme and will be used during the year ahead promoting good practice in animal welfare.

This week, the Liscarroll-based Donkey Sanctuary has launched an appeal for new fosterers across Ireland to give a home to rescued donkeys.

The animal charity which is seeing record numbers of abandoned, neglected and unwanted donkeys in its care has significantly increased intake figures and has seen both of its farms fill to near capacity because of the current global economic problems.