Donkeys are in crisis all around the world - they are being abused, stolen, traded and slaughtered for their skins.
To make this dreadful situation even worse, often donkey owners don’t see them as creatures who can feel pain and suffer - to them, they are just tools. In Bela-Bela, South Africa, donkeys support the livelihoods of many people in this dirt-poor community. The people rely on donkeys for transporting goods such as water and firewood. But instead of treating their donkeys with respect and love, they are routinely abused.
In Bela-Bela, donkeys have boiling water and hot oil thrown on them, or they’re hacked and stabbed with knives and machetes.
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Horrifyingly, donkey merchants deliberately hurt donkeys to sabotage their competition. When an opposing business is seen to be making money, gangs are dispatched to viciously attack donkeys, causing terrible wounds and sometimes painful, gruesome death.
Help us to take action by donating today!
Donate todayIt’s only through constant vigilance – ours (made possible by your support), and that of our partners on the ground - that we’re able to monitor, intervene and stop abuse as it happens. We employ a full-time cruelty investigator to patrol the area, and our work there is desperately needed.
Our animal cruelty inspector discovered Mafuza - a baby donkey stabbed with a broken bottle and left alone in agony.
Mafuza was less than a year old when he was attacked and left to die.
Mafuza was discovered by our animal cruelty inspector while conducting a regular patrol. The poor donkey was found wandering the hot, dusty streets alone with a severe neck wound. From the extreme maggot infestation of the tissue, it was clear the wound was already a few days old. According to a witness, helpless little Mafuza was violently attacked by a man who slashed the baby donkey’s neck with a glass bottle!
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Mafuza was rescued and rushed to our safe house where he is receiving dedicated medical care. He is currently on antibiotics and strong pain medication, and the wound is regularly cleaned to help treat the severe infection.
It is only with the support of friends like you that we can save Mafuza and other innocent donkeys. Please, donate now to help us end the terrible abuse of donkeys in rural Bela-Bela. Without you, these innocent animals have no hope.
Help us to take action by donating today!
Donate todayThe pain and fear these donkeys experience is beyond our comprehension.
The agony and suffering must end NOW!
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Pus-infected stab wound threatens poor donkey.
Mafuza will need ongoing care, medication, and pain management treatment for several months to make a full recovery. With your donations, we’ll be able to provide him with this care and give him the second chance he deserves.
We are working hard to stop these atrocious cases of abuse and neglect,
but we cannot do it without you!
Right now, an investigation is ongoing and once the guilty person is found, they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law!
Having a team on the ground is working! But we must continue our efforts to provide the essential supplies like fuel for the rescue vehicle and food for the rescued and rehabilitated animals, and critical medical supplies to treat the sick, wounded and horrendously abused animals in this hellhole. Will you help the donkeys by donating now?
For the animals,
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Brian and Gloria Davies (and Max and Flora!)
Founders
Network for Animals
P.S. We know you are as appalled as we are by cases like Mafuza’s. Network for Animals is working to stop such atrocities. Please donate generously today and help us keep our team in the field, and we promise never to give up fighting for these precious animals.