The Donkey Sanctuary is one of the UK’s largest charities – and as such has a large profile and a considerable sense of its responsibilities: Mountain Partnership: Members detail: fao.org
Most of its outreach work is done abroad where donkeys are still very much in use – and the Donkey Sanctuary is making huge efforts to encourage donkey owners and others involved in donkey husbandry to become more ‘sustainable’ in their practices.
And in poorer countries, such practices have to be cost effective.
For example:
One recipient of the CERF fund, the Sanjeevani Vikas Evam Jan Kalyan Samiti organisation, has been promoting the growing of Azolla, an aquatic plant often added to livestock food, as a sustainable way to feed donkeys and mules. Azolla can be produced at home, giving donkey and mule owning families a way of giving their animals a sustainable food source. From this project alone, a total of 100 owners have received the training and resources necessary to begin their own Azolla cultivation.
News | Promoting sustainable donkey feed in India | The Donkey Sanctuary
With more examples:
News | Carbon offsetting helps donkeys and the environment | The Donkey Sanctuary
News | Donkeys help to collect water in Northern Tanzania | The Donkey Sanctuary
But it’s not just abroad that the Donkey Sanctuary is making efforts to act sustainably:
The Donkey Sanctuary Sidmouth recently hosted ‘Loving our Land’ . Guests heard about the work of The Donkey Sanctuary’s Ecology and Conservation team and watched a demonstration of grass cutting using the traditional method of scything…
Ecology and Conservation manager Ruth Angell said: “Managing the land in this way not only supports the wildlife living around the sanctuary, but also supports the health of the resident herd, providing enrichment opportunities that allow them to exhibit more of their natural behaviours.”
The Donkey Sanctuary prides itself on serving locally sourced seasonal produce where possible
Donkey charity proves loving our land can reap rewards | Sidmouth Herald