Cork Donkey charity at full capacity

The Donkey Sanctuary in Cork is unable to accept any more donkeys. It is at full capacity.

The Cork branch of the animal charity, in Liscarroll, welcomed four pregnant mares and three foals at the weekend, which will be their last intake for the foreseeable future.

The charity has 1,700 donkeys at locations across the country.

The sanctuary introduced limitations on intake two years ago, only taking in the most vulnerable animals.

However, The Donkey Sanctuary is now at breaking point.

Laura Foster, of the Cork Donkey Sanctuary, said that while donkey ownership remains popular in Ireland, many new owners fail to realise the extent of care required to maintain the animals.

“Some of the problems might be financial. It might be due to ill health,” Ms Foster said.

“Obviously, over the last couple of years we’ve seen people really suffering as a result of Covid, [and] we’ve now got the cost of living. 

“Animals generally tend to suffer when human beings suffer, but, in general, there are very low levels of awareness about how to look after donkeys across the country,” said Ms Foster.

“People don’t realise, for example, that donkeys’ coats aren’t waterproof.

“So, across the wintertime we see huge numbers of donkeys that have just been left outside in cold, wet conditions.”

Ms Foster also highlighted the collapse of the Celtic Tiger, and the subsequent lack of funds available to people who had taken donkeys in as pets during the peak of their popularity. That’s another factor in the surplus of animals being neglected in Ireland.

Until action is taken by the equestrian community, this problem will persist.