EXTRAORDINARY RELOCATION of 200 DONKEYS (saved from CERTAIN DEATH by the despicable CHINESE donkey skin trade) - in progress NOW!

In mid-August, we asked for your help in raising enough money to transport 200 dreadfully abused donkeys to safety in France. Many of these animals have been rescued from the horrors of the donkey skin trade and are in urgent need of our help right now.

We have still not reached our goal - we are just shy of the $20,000 (£16,900) we need to raise. With your help, we managed to raise enough to begin relocating the first 50 donkeys, but we must raise the full amount in order to relocate the remaining 150 in the coming weeks. The relocation team is standing by to make preparations for the remaining animals, and we must rush to send them the full amount so we can help save all the donkeys - not just some of them.

Please, will you help us right now to reach our goal?

Donkeys are in crisis all around the world - suffering from abuse, neglect and, worst of all, brutal slaughter at the hands of the horrific Chinese donkey skin trade.

There are only an estimated 40 million donkeys left in the world and the Chinese are killing around 4.8 million donkeys each year to make a cosmetic called ejiao (pronounced “uh-jee-ow”).

Our partner, the Starting Over Sanctuary (SOS) in Israel, continuously rescues donkeys headed for the same deplorable fate.

Many of the rescued animals are in terrible shape, suffering from malnutrition, critical injuries, and severe emotional trauma. The Chinese don’t care because they are only interested in the skins.

Now, following its latest rescues, the wonderful SOS sanctuary has reached capacity. It is completely inundated with donkeys and urgently needs to relocate 200 of these innocent animal victims to a well-vetted sanctuary in France. We need your help!

Several of these donkeys were intercepted by Israeli authorities as they were being transported in shocking conditions. They were piled in the back of a filthy truck and en route to Egypt, where donkey slaughterhouses are currently believed to be active. Recently, heaps of lifeless donkey corpses were discovered skinless just outside Cairo.

This insatiable donkey skin industry wipes out millions of donkeys every year for a cosmetic called ejiao, which has no proven benefit whatsoever. The animals are often bludgeoned, skinned alive and exported mainly from Africa to China. It is estimated that 4.8 million donkey skins a year are needed to satisfy the demands of this bloodthirsty practice.

There are only around 40 million donkeys left in the world. We are witnessing the very real and rapid extermination of a gentle and beloved species. We must do what we can to save as many donkeys as possible, and with your help, we will.

Thanks to the compassionate work of organizations like our partner, the Starting Over Sanctuary (SOS), who rescue, rehabilitate, and provide long-term care for these precious animals, there is hope. SOS is situated in the Moshav Herut region of central Israel and NEVER turns away a single donkey in need. But it is now at absolute capacity…

The sanctuary is home to more than 600 donkeys and struggles to properly care for so many animals. It costs roughly $3,000 (£2,500) a year to sustain one donkey, and as you can imagine, the bill for 600 is utterly crippling. SOS has come up with a solution, but it desperately needs our help to ensure its success.

In the hopes of easing some of the pressure on its sanctuary, SOS intends to relocate 200 donkeys to a sanctuary called La Tanière, situated just north of France’s capital city, Paris. After a careful vetting process, the sanctuary has been deemed a very good place for the donkeys, with ample space and expert, devoted animal lovers readily available to care for them around the clock.

Donkeys are social, sensitive creatures, which is why we, together with SOS, are carefully considering every aspect of the relocation process. To ensure an easy and stress-free transition, the donkeys who have formed significant bonds with one another will be moved together.

Our partner has already managed to raise most of the funds itself and has asked us to cover the shortfall. Of course, as animal lovers, we have agreed to do everything in our power to help.

If we can raise $20,000 (£16,900), we can help transport 200 donkeys have already been relocated but the rest are STILL waiting for a lifeline!

SOS receives regular callouts to rescue neglected donkeys. While there is no shortage of cold-hearted humans who inflict cruel and unnecessary pain on the region’s gentle equines, a large portion of the local community loves donkeys. These kind-hearted people swiftly identify and report cases of donkey mistreatment to SOS, who dispatches rescue teams immediately and brings the poor souls back to the safety of its sanctuary. But the more overcrowded the sanctuary becomes, the less donkeys our partner can save.

It is a miracle that 200 donkeys were rescued from lives that would have been marred by torture, misery and, ultimately, excruciating death. With your help, we can prolong their good fortune by relocating the animals to a safe haven in France.

Please, please, donate as generously as you possibly can right now. Any contribution, no matter how small or large, will bring us one step closer to giving all 200 donkeys, who have known nothing but suffering, a chance to live and thrive. These precious creatures are so close to the happy, love-filled lives that they deserve. Let’s get them there together.

For the animals,

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

P.S. The growing demand for ejiao puts the donkey population at grave risk. At the current level of slaughter, donkeys could be extinct within the next four years. Working closely with the Starting Over Sanctuary (SOS) and our partners in other parts of the world, we hope to bring an end to this shocking and disgraceful practice. Please donate today so that SOS can keep its head above water, sustain the donkeys already in its care, and continue its critical work to rescue more donkeys who so desperately need help.