Celebrating Working Donkeys in South Africa
In South Africa, our partner group Blind Love treated 52 donkeys and 54 horses in June. They also took part in a special event celebrating donkeys! Read more to discover how your fantastic support is enhancing the lives and welfare of working animals in South Africa.
This month things were a bit different and our outreach day took place on ‘Donkey Day’ or ‘Donkey Carnival’ on the 7th of June. Owners had been asking for this event to be held again. There was a huge amount of preparation that took place beforehand behind the scenes! Donkey Day started with a parade through the town and carts started gathering at the starting point from 8.30am. It was wonderful to see them all in the bright, colourful harnesses we had distributed, and some owners had gone the extra mile by adding decorations to their carts. There were 26 donkey carts in the parade, which seems to be the biggest turnout yet for this carnival.
Once the parade finished, all the donkeys rested in the shade, had their bridles removed and were unhitched from their carts. There was a group of 20 girls present from one of the local schools. They were very keen to get involved with our donkey program and had raised a significant amount, which allowed each owner to receive a heavy-duty bucket, rope halter, grooming brush and hoof pick for their donkey. The girls also handed out donated hay bales for each donkey and even groomed them!
Two vets were present at Donkey Day and they gave all the animals check ups. They were impressed that they were in good condition and there were no wounds or injuries to treat. This shows that our monthly outreaches are paying off. Each donkey present also received a rabies shot on the day.
We had a farrier there who did a wonderful job trimming and cleaning out all the donkeys’ hooves. There was a team of carpenters too who were kept busy fixing carts. The school girls helped owners paint the carts in bright colours.
We had a small award ceremony aimed at promoting responsible ownership, with prizes such as: best cared for donkeys/overall condition; healthiest hooves; best harness fit and condition; shiniest coat; most responsible donkey owner; kindness award and community donkey hero.
It truly was a special day and for the first time in a long while the townsfolk of Grahamstown were able to see the progress being made by our outreach program. Donkey Day was even featured in local media outlets and we had the opportunity to talk about our donkey outreach program.
WORKING HORSES OUTREACH ACTIVITIES
It was another busy month for the Agripreneur Team in the Thaba’Nchu area. They held seven outreach days for horses in June and treated 54 animals.
We have moved into the winter months now, which means temperatures plummet to minus 10-12 degrees. The plus side means the midges that were spreading African Horse Sickness are killed off for the season, and there are less ticks and flies. The down side is that there is very little grazing available for these hard-working horses, so the Agripreneur team focused on getting good quality feed to the equines.
At outreach days, the team treated harness-related wounds and saddle sores caused by bareback riding. There was one horse with an eye infection and the owner was told to take the horse to the state clinic to be treated.
The Botshabelo outreach day highlighted the differences in attitude these owners have towards their horses compared to those in Thaba’Nchu. Botshabelo owners work together as a group and if an owner is not seen to be adhering to welfare standards, he is fined. The horses here were all in great condition!
We are frustrated with the owners in Thaba’Nchu, as we are not seeing much progress or change in the owners’ attitudes towards improving the welfare of their horses. The Agripreneur team put it down to the fact there seems to be a new, younger group of horse owners who are now attending outreaches. It feels like we are starting from scratch in terms of education and welfare. After Donkey Day in Grahamstown, it was hard to see this difference in attitudes towards cart horses in Thaba’nchu, but we will not be giving up any time soon for the sake of the horses.
Thank you Blind Love for your dedication and hard work improving the lives of donkeys and horses in South Africa. And thank you to our fantastic supporters and donors - we could not create these positive changes without you!