Meet Pumpkin – an orphaned two-month-old foal who has stolen all of our hearts. Pumpkin is one of the 53 donkeys and 15 horses that, thanks to your amazing support, will have a full belly this winter and a warm and safe place to rest his head.
Network for Animals finances the MARES Donkey Sanctuary in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. When the sanctuary told us it was running out of money for food because of the COVID-19 crisis, we asked our supporters for help. We just delivered 2,000 bales of hay and we are excited to report that we have more than enough room at the inn to stockpile this treasured gift – because we also built a storage barn for the fodder.
When it’s summer in North America and Europe, it’s winter in Zimbabwe, and Bulawayo is experiencing its coldest winter in more than a decade. Because of you, we will be able to feed these precious animals through the winter.
The NFA team has been hard at work rescuing countless donkeys from across Zimbabwe, who have suffered unspeakable cruelty. As the COVID-19 situation escalates, donkeys are experiencing horrendous and inexcusable brutality, being violently slaughtered so their skin can be boiled down to make gelatine (known as ejiao) for phony Chinese medicine. China’s donkey population has halved since 1990, so it seeks to import the skins from elsewhere – and Zimbabwe is prime for the picking.
Zimbabwe is a bankrupt state, crippled by a plummeting economy and corruption. Considering that a donkey weighing 150 kg needs about three to four kilograms of hay a day – or at least a half-acre of grazing area – many donkeys that aren’t slaughtered, endure long periods of starvation. For a severely starved donkey, it may take as long as six to 10 months before we are able to get it back to a normal body weight.
While there is still much work left to be done, securing enough food to feed these animals and ensuring they have adequate shelter, is a huge relief.
Once again, thank you for your support you have shown.
