By Dionne Meehan

DONEGAL Donkey Sanctuary has launched an urgent appeal after rescuing 12 donkeys on Monday, the largest single rescue in the sanctuary’s 15 years.

Rescuing the 12 unfortunate souls from Co Leitrim, Sanctuary Manager Danny ‘Donkey’ Curran said nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to witness.

“What met us was a lot worse than what we were told,” he said.

“There was a lot of hunger and a lot of neglect.

“It was heart-breaking to see their overgrown hooves and bedraggled coats.

“There was lots of one-year-old babies clinging to their mums, who could potentially be pregnant again as they were running with several stallions.”

With the winter months fast approaching, and over 100 donkeys now in their care, Danny spoke of the struggles that lay ahead.

“We are really going to struggle for stabling over the winter,” he explained.

“Our rehoming has slowed down and we are going to have to actively look to see if we can get a lend of stables or a shed.”

Before Monday’s rescue, Danny said the sanctuary was already under pressure.

But with 12 extra mouths to feed, extra farrier bills and extra vet bills, he said there is now a huge financial burden on their resources.

“The number of donkeys needing help is increasing year on year,” he said.

“But, the number of rehoming is decreasing.

“We know we are going to have to expand, but look at the property pages to you see what 20 acres of land costs.

“Then you need big sheds on that land, which could be €200,000 in development on top of buying the land.

“It is crazy money.”

As far as renting land goes, Danny said it is impossible.

“It is virtually impossible at the minute to rent land as all the land that is about is tied up in some grant,” he said.

“People don’t want to rent it to you.”

As the cost of living continues to rise, Danny said he is seeing fewer donkeys being rehomed.

“You’ve got an awful lot of people out there and they are struggling to pay mortgages,” he said.

“They are just trying to make ends meet, and owning two or four donkeys is really in the class of a luxury pet.

“You can own a cat or a dog and it is not really going to impact much in your life, but the minute you own a pony, a horse, or a donkey, you need facilities, you need vets and you need farriers.

“You need an extra chunk of disposable income and that is not there anymore.

“People are just struggling all the time; you see it more and more.

“We have a lot of very good homes out there who took donkeys off us, and we see that they are starting to struggle.

“They don’t want to part with their donkeys, their family pets, but we can see when we go out that it is getting harder for them to buy hay, just the climate that is in it.

“It all has a knock on effect.”

• If you wish to make a donation to Donegal Donkey Sanctuary, you can do so via https://gofund.me/df154843