Recent admissions into the Mannar Donkey Clinic and Education Centre

AAA partner group, Bridging Lanka have sent us an update on the activity at the Mannar Donkey Clinic and Education Centre where a number of animals were greatly assisted by the team:

"Admission Number: 189:

For five days a poor donkey had been lying in front of the EPF/ETF office in the village of Pallimunai. Its hoof had been caught in a disposed tinned fish can which was now cutting its leg. On our rescue team’s arrival, this seemingly docile donkey bucked with gusto at its impending capture. Luckily for us it was in an urban area which usually makes for an easier capture because of the many hard surfaces that prevent escape. This was a ‘bread and butter’ case of catching, treating and releasing. Victor was the compassionate soul who kindly reached out to the Donkey Clinic & Education Centre to seek help for this donkey. The hoof is now free to recover and the donkey to roam the streets of Mannar.

Admission Number: 190

It is difficult to imagine how much pain this mother donkey was enduring. Najath, a local from Erukkalampiddy, noticed a donkey near the fish market with a glowingly red and nasty wound on her front leg. He contacted our centre straight away. Even in her dire condition, the mare was still feeding and caring for its two foals. The rescue wasn’t easy. It was a rainy, windy day with many roads flooded. After 30 minutes of getting soaked in the storm, the mother, foals and rescue staff were in the truck heading for the donkey clinic. Although the wound was deep, infected and extensive, our skilled staff cleaned, medicated and bandaged the wound. We’re expecting a full recovery.

Admission Number: 191

Laven, a health department worker, reached out to us about a young, blind donkey with a leg injury. However when our team arrived on the scene, there was no donkey to be seen. Laven called us again the next day, and even though he was getting drenched in the rain, this time he didn’t let the donkey out of his sight. It was amazing how this blind donkey continued to survive in this harsh urban environment. The gruesome wound on the donkey’s right hind leg was deep to the bone. The leg is now bandaged and the donkey is socialising well with the others in the isolation ward.

Admission Number: 192

Shiyam has become a regular informer of injured donkeys and is becoming a great supporter of our rescue service. This time he observed a foal bleeding from the hoof standing behind the Municipal Council office in Periyakamam. Whilst loading the donkeys onto the truck, a local Councillor started interrogating our staff about what they were doing with these donkeys. We were taken aback when Shiyam came to the rescue, stepping in and answering all questions and defending our donkey rescue work. This allowed us to withdraw quickly and return to the clinic with mother and foal. Upon examination we learnt that the foal’s hoof had been completely removed. From experience we know that a hoof is healed in six months.

Admission Number: 193

A new addition to the family came from the Tharapuram army checkpoint. About three months ago a foal was born and separated itself from the mother. It’s extremely difficult for a foal to survive without the mother, usually resulting in death. However with the tender loving care of these checkpoint personnel, amazingly, this foal survived. Senarath who worked at the post was the one who fed the donkey giving bread and leftovers - usually rice and curries. But when the foal started digging up the ground and eating sand, Senarath became worried and realised that the camp might not be the best place for the foal. One day when the donkey rescue truck was passing by, Senarath came running out, pleading with us to take the donkey into our care. We couldn’t refuse, adding one more member to our resident donkey family.

Admission Number: 197

We were horrified when Parvathi Amma informed us of a pregnant donkey being in labour for two days with the foal’s head hanging out. Parvathi Amma empathised intensely with the mother donkey, herself having gone through a similar ordeal during her daughter’s birth. She helped load the mare onto the donkey truck, crying out in tears that she could feel the pain of this mother and begging us to do all that we could to save them. Immediately the donkey was taken to the home of our vet, Dr. Vincent. It took about 30 minutes to free the baby from the mother’s womb. Bringing it back to the centre we gave it all the support we could but the foal did not make it. The mother is still with us.

As the Corona restrictions ease in Sri Lanka, we are starting to see a trickle of visitors coming to our centre. This month we saw groups from Mannar, Colombo, Kaluthara and Kandy. It felt like the country was opening up again. As usual, the visitors all loved playing with our curious donkeys. However, there was a surprise of a new addition to the walking tour - the Merchandising room! Although we hadn’t started production in earnest, the visitors loved the sample cushion covers, tea towels, tote bags and key chains and starting negotiating prices. This was a pleasant surprise and a great motivator to our team. It boosted our level of confidence in our newest venture, a merchandising social enterprise that creates employment for local young women without jobs."