About Donkey Rescue UK

People often ask me... "Why donkey’s?" And the only honest answer I can give is that I just don’t know.

I spent many years nagging my parents for a donkey when I was a child, and have always had a bit of an obsession with them! I can remember my father taking my brother and I on a seaside trip, and I was horrified to see the donkeys stood for hours on end in the baking sun, with often very large children, or worse, very large adults sat on their backs. I must have been about 8 years old when I approached a train of donkeys wondering up the promenade, and one donkey had a large lady, with rosy red cheeks, sat on his back. She was laughing out loud as the donkey struggled to carry her mass up the path, much to her family’s and onlookers amusement. I calmly walked up to the donkey and his rider and simply asked "Don’t you think you should get off and let the donkey have a go now?"

And so my battle to be a voice for the donkeys began, and after many years of hard work, I am now in a position to offer a place of Sanctuary and refuge to sick, injured, abandoned or mistreated donkeys.
Donkey Rescue UK is set amongst the rolling hills of the Shropshire countryside. We are completely self funded and do not receive any government funding or grants.

The donkeys that come to us have travelled from far and wide; some from Eastern Europe where they were destined to be slaughtered after travelling to Italy to make salami meat, and some are cruelty cases from closer to home. We take in donkeys that the people can no longer keep for personal reasons, and we will investigate cases that are reported to us if a member of the public thinks that a donkey is being mistreated. We also actively look for donkeys in need and will monitor auctions where we can and try and save donkeys from slaughter in the UK.

We have had some atrocious cases in since we opened our gates to the donkeys. "One-Eyed Jack" was very underweight and had very long feet and a long matted coat. He was full of lice and worms and was very fearful of people. He had also lost an eye, and we will never know how this happened. "One eyed Jack" is now making a slow recovery. His veterinary treatment is estimated at £2,000 in total, and of course he will never regain his full eyesight. But he is happier now, and loves to have a cuddle and a scratch. He is very cheeky and knows he one of the lucky ones. Read the article from the Shropshire Star.

"Mr. Darcy" came to us in a very poor condition; the veterinary surgeon had never seen such a thin animal. He was so week he could barely stand, and he was only 5 months old. It is believed he was taken away from his mother too soon, or he was orphaned. He has a heart murmur and a terrible infection. He was immediately put on an intensive treatment of antibiotics, extra vitamins and replacement milk.


The nature of our work means that there are some very sad moments, but there are also some very rewarding ones. And we would not be able to continue giving our time and love to some very sad and distressed donkeys without the support and generosity of the public.

Donkey Rescue UK welcomes volunteers, and is always desperately in need of help with fundraising. Schools, groups or organisations are encouraged to help with fundraising by holding sponsored walks, coffee mornings, parties, raffles, auctions, car boot stalls, cake stalls etc. And we can often bring one or two donkeys along to meet the group and answer questions about what we do. We have a couple of donkeys who also enjoy giving rides to children, but we follow strict guidelines that no person over the age of 16, and no person weighing more than 8 stone should go on the donkeys. We can "hire" these donkeys out with all the funds going back in to Donkey Rescue UK. They can make a great attraction at fetes and shows, or even starring in plays or on television.

Many of the donkeys here will have a safe haven for life in our Sanctuary, and whilst we are not yet open to the public, we hope to arrange open days as well as travel to local shows so the public can see first hand the work that we do. We are a non-profit organisation, and all donations and cheques should be sent directly to Donkey rescue UK.

You can help our sanctuary keep up the work by making a Donation or Sponsoring A Donkey

We need your help, so we can continue to help the donkeys.

Please check out our new website www.donkeymixtures.co.uk where you can learn all about our zeedonk, zonkey and zorse.

Brickyard House Farm, Billingsley, Bridgnorth, Shropshire, WV16 6PH
Telephone :: 07975 516219 | email :: info@donkeyrescueuk.org | Charity Registration Number 1138874
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