Your impact
Your generosity changes donkeys’ lives
Every major gift brings hope to donkeys and mules in desperate need. With the support of generous individuals, trusts and companies, we achieve extraordinary impact:
- Ensuring that all the donkeys and mules in our care lead happy and healthy lives.
- Building specially crafted barns to offer safe, secure, comfortable homes for donkeys in need of shelter.
- Continuing our global fight to end the donkey skin trade, saving millions of animals from brutal slaughter.
- Equipping donkey and mule owners around the world with the skills and knowledge to improve their animals’ welfare and, in turn, their own lives.
- Supporting donkeys working in some of the world’s harshest conditions, with vital medical supplies and expertise.
- Undertaking important research to help understand the causes, effects and develop solutions to donkey suffering.
Life-changing projects you can support
Discover some of our current projects and areas of work where major gifts can continue to make a meaningful difference to the lives of donkeys and the people who care for them.
Putting donkeys first
At the heart of our Donkeys First initiative is a promise to ensure every donkey in our care receives the specialist care they deserve.
Our network of eight sanctuaries across Britain, which are home to more than 2,600 donkeys and mules, is where our promise becomes a reality. We are constantly striving to improve these even further through initiatives, including:
- Building purpose-built, shelters and paddocks which provide our donkeys with plenty of space to rest, eat, exercise and socialise.
- Constructing all-weather tracks to allow our donkeys to explore even more spaces all year round.
- Improving our farms’ facilities to improve storage, safety and better utilise our resources.
Supporting donkeys and mules in Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, donkeys and mules are vital to daily life, supporting transport, trade and family livelihoods. Yet access to specialist equine veterinary care is limited in many areas.
Working in partnership with the College of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture at Addis Ababa University, we are strengthening equine healthcare in Bishoftu, Merkato and surrounding communities through:
- Improved veterinary services at dedicated equine clinics.
- Training and support for vets and students to deliver high-quality care.
- Working with the community to help owners prevent common health and welfare problems.
- Research and disease surveillance to protect thousands of donkeys and mules.
This five-year programme will improve the lives of tens of thousands of working donkeys and mules, and the people who depend on them.
Building confidence, connection and wellbeing with donkeys
Our specialist Donkey Assisted Activities centre in Sidmouth is transforming lives through the gentle power of donkeys. Thanks to generous supporters, hundreds of children and adults now benefit from:
- Calm, private sessions with donkeys that build empathy, confidence and emotional wellbeing.
- Tailored programmes that support mental health, life skills and personal growth.
- A safe, nurturing space where donkeys and people connect as equals.
Supporting mules in Nepal
In rural Nepal, donkeys are vital to people’s lives, being the primary mode of transport in some of the most beautiful but dangerous terrain on earth.
Their welfare is closely tied to the wellbeing of people and the environment they share. All three are facing severe challenges. With your support, we’re working with local partners to:
- Improve mule health through veterinary camps, training and vaccinations.
- Promote the safety of mule owners and children through education, school enrolment drives and youth programmes.
- Restore land and prevent erosion through sustainable fodder planting and watershed management.
- Build community resilience with disaster preparedness training and income diversification.
