Sophie and her friends were on the BRINK of DEATH.

The plight of abused donkeys in Bela Bela, South Africa, continues to be of the utmost concern. Please help us rush emergency aid to the battered and abused donkeys in this rural hellhole by donating right now. We need your help to save them.

Terrified, emaciated donkeys with gaping wounds and broken spirits
are in urgent need of medical care and rehabilitation.
Please, if you possibly can, rush a donation right away to save them!

Our team was alerted to several cases of donkey abuse in Bela Bela by a cruelty inspector on the ground. We immediately rushed to the scene. What we discovered upon arrival was even worse than we could have imagined: a herd of starving, injured donkeys, cowering against barbed wire fences, covered with sores oozing with pus.

With seeping wounds and hip bones jutting out…
these donkeys were just days from death!

Many had been DELIBERATELY INJURED: cruel owners make cuts in the donkeys’ skins and then whip these open wounds to force them to work even harder.

EVEN MORE HORRIFYING, some of the donkeys were blind in one eye because their owners had intentionally burst their eyeballs. This is to make them easier to catch and control, as they can’t run as fast with damaged vision.

These poor, gentle creatures also had painful, infected wounds where rudimentary harnesses had torn into their flesh. For days, weeks and sometimes months on end, these donkeys are literally worked to the bone under the most inhumane conditions. They are forced to drag overladen carts even when they are ill or injured. If they protest, they’re simply whipped and beaten harder.

Donkeys only a year old are starved, abused and forced to carry loads exceeding ONE TON.

While most of the donkeys were in horrific states, Sophie was the one that brought our team to tears - and we’re a team that has seen countless terrible things.

Just a year old, this poor little girl was not only the thinnest donkey of them all but also the most emaciated donkey we had ever seen. How she was even still standing, we have no idea. She flinched at the slightest touch, not sure whether she could trust us. After all, all she has ever known in her short life is cruelty and abuse.

As we spoke to her, promising her we’d save her, one of her fearful friends slowly inched over. He must have realized that we are the good guys - and ever so gently, he nudged us with his nose. He refused to leave our side - he knew we were his only hope.

There was no way our team was leaving without making sure these donkeys were taken to a place of safety and given the best medical care possible.

With assistance from our partner on the ground, the Have a Heart Equine Sanctuary (HAHES), as well as a team of police officers, we were able to confiscate Sophie and two other donkeys in almost equally shocking condition. Poor Sophie, despite being deathly afraid, was just happy to have some food: the moment she entered the horsebox, she began to tear at the hay in front of her, swallowing it down in huge, grateful gulps. It was probably the most food she’d ever seen in her life.

The confiscated donkeys will now be rehabilitated - but their road to recovery will be LONG and COSTLY.

The rescued donkeys are now safe but desperately need urgent medical treatment and ongoing care. Would you please help us provide this life-saving care by donating right now? We urgently need to raise $3,000 (£2,160) to get the food and medicine they need. We desperately want to rehabilitate Sophie and her friends, but we need YOUR help to do it. We cannot help them without your support.

Caring, medically treating and feeding these poor donkeys is expensive. We can only help them because of the generosity of animal lovers like you. Please, donate what you can so that Sophie and her friends can experience life without cruelty and pain. They are counting on you! Sophie and her friends need you!

For the animals,

Brian and Gloria Davies (and Max and Flora!)
Founders
Network for Animals

PS: Network for Animals has worked with donkey owners in Bela Bela for several years, helping to educate them about the proper treatment of animals. Funds we raise are also used for microchipping, education programs - and we now have a full-time donkey welfare inspector on the ground. Your donation is essential, no matter how large or small - please, rush your donation to us now and help us save beaten and abused animals like Sophie.