A tragic cruelty case + an orphaned donkey foal in need of dedicated care

The team at Zambezi Working Donkey Project (ZWDP) have faced several challenges recently, including heavy rains, a tragic cruelty case and two residents at their sanctuary passing away.

However, they remain dedicated to improving the lives and welfare of working donkeys in Zambia. Recently, this included caring for a special orphaned foal.

Overview

We are privileged and humbled to receive more of your support towards our vision in 2026. Your continued support has given us a great start in the new year and we are excited to be reporting back to you once again.

We had more rain in January than in previous years in Livingstone, making the roads impassable and the villages we work in hard to reach. Many of our field programs were interrupted by the rains this month, including our regular outreaches to Libuyu market as the bridge leading to the market was often flooded and dangerous to cross. Most of our field programs were therefore conducted by the Project Supervisor on the motorbike instead. 

Despite these challenges, the team exceeded their monthly target for the year, dipping 143 donkeys, deworming 33 and providing wound treatment for five donkeys. The team conducted one mobile clinic in Libuyu and completed follow-up and field visits to seven villages. Additionally, 46 donkey owners were educated on basic animal care and welfare. Five inhumane ox yokes with replaced with humane harnesses.

Follow-up Visits

Our supervisor, Emmanuel, completed follow-ups visits for donkeys who were rescued and returned to their owners last year. This included Prisca and her foal, Lillian and Chester, Jealous and Budget, Zebra and Sepa.

All the donkeys were found to be doing well except Zebra and Sepa. They had minor wounds on their chests and necks from improperly fitted harnesses. Zebra and Sepa’s owner has a bad record when it comes to the welfare of his donkeys and we will be keeping a close eye on this situation to ensure he complies with meeting their welfare needs.

tragic Cruelty Case

The month started on a sad note when we received word that a foal had been tragically killed. This was related to a previous incident where a foal sustained a fracture caused by unknown perpetrators. This foal was euthanised due to a lack of proper facilities to undertake complex orthopaedic surgery.

The foal who was killed in January belonged to the same owner. He had no clue about who fractured his foal’s leg last month and was keen to find the offenders this time around.

It turned out the poor foal was killed by children within the community who channelled their anger onto the little foal after a misunderstanding with the owner’s children.

The owner came to us for help but it was already too late. He later filed a case with the police to seek justice. However, the police advised they could not advance the case because the foal had been buried before the cause of death could be confirmed.

We are devastated by this cruelty enacted by the children involved and it breaks our hearts we couldn't save the poor foal. However, we are hopeful that with an upcoming education centre planned for Maramba Farm, many children will be educated about preventing animal cruelty.   

Sanctuary update

At the rescue and rehabilitation centre, Maramba Farm, our rescued donkeys are merrier than ever. They have had even more grass to graze on this year due to the rains.

The team conducts biweekly weight checks on the rescued herd using body condition scoring to ensure they maintain a healthy weight. With the risk of vector-borne illnesses in the rainy season, the team has been conducting daily temperature checks for early detection of systemic disease. We also intensified vector control by dipping the residents weekly and spraying them daily with fly spray.

As Maramba Farm was muddy from consistent raining, the team took extra care of the donkeys’ hooves to prevent foot root and abscesses. 

Chief’s previously severed foot has been sore now that it’s raining again, but he is recovering with wound treatment and time spent on dry ground with his close friend, Dunlop. Chief was also diagnosed with an abscess in his left front hoof, for which he received treatment and recovered fully a week later.  

an orphaned Foal

A friend of ZWDPs called us as she was concerned about a little foal she had seen who looked tired and ill. The foal was tied to an older donkey who was pulling a scotch cart with worn-out harnesses.

The caller sent us the owner’s contact details and we asked him to bring the donkeys to Maramba Farm so his worn out harnesses could be replaced and his little foal could receive the help she needed.

When they arrived, we learnt the little foal had lost her mum in an accident when she was only a month old and was still dependent on her mother’s milk. She presented with a fever and dehydration, so immediately received warm milk replacer every two hours.

The foal has been named Mary and team have been working hard to bottle-feed her consistently, including overnight. Her hydration status and temperature have now normalised.

Two Sad Passings

Sadly, we lost two rescued donkeys last month. The first one was Transport. After fully recovering from an injury that caused a minor fracture, Transport was moved from his rest paddock to the big paddock with the main herd. Unfortunately, he accidentally accessed too much green grass through the night causing severe gas and impaction colic, which sadly took his life a few days later.

Secondly, a previous patient called Mbweda also acquired colic and died less than 24 hours later. A post-mortem examination suggested an acute infection caused by anaerobic bacteria naturally present in soil, but which can causes infection in animals when conditions are favorable.

We are planning to investigate further to get to the root cause of these related mortalities. 

New Rescues

We have two new permanent rescues on the farm - Ngunduzani and Champion. They were both rescued last year for lameness and have shown some progress following rest.

Originally, Ngunduzani was scheduled for euthanasia due to his poor prognosis with a dislocated hip and subsequent arthritis. However, his owner has agreed to let him retire with us until he no longer has a good quality of life.

Champion has shown minimal improvement since rupturing a muscle in his back right leg and won't be able to work another day in his life. He has therefore also been permanently retired.

Both Champion and Ngunduzani will spend their golden days with us and the rest of the rescued herd at Maramba Farm, all thanks to your support.

With you by their side, ZWDP will continue to overcome various challenges and provide all the care, treatment, attention and dignity working donkeys in Zambia deserve.