Three years ago, a donkey shelter was set up in eastern Turkey, run by veterinarian Ali and his wife. They live in the village and also have a veterinary practice there. We visited the shelter in February. Despite the fact that the house of Ali and his wife and daughter has been damaged by the earthquake, they remain where they are, so that they can continue to take care of the donkeys and other animals in need.
Donkeys are one of the most neglected animals in Turkey. They are often used to smuggle drugs and gasoline from Syria and are therefore also called drug mules. The moment they are so exhausted or injured that they can no longer stand on their feet, they are left without food and water to die.
In February they had 8 donkeys and at the moment there are already 20 donkeys in the shelter and that continues to grow. In addition, there are also many other rescued animals, such as cows injured by the earthquake, a horse, a few injured sheep and goats and many other smaller animals. Due to the increasing number of donkeys, the space has become much too tight to graze (the grass there is not as green as in the Netherlands). The shelter is now 10,000 m2 and the municipality allows them to increase that to 60,000 m2. This means that they can take care of more donkeys and that is badly needed, because it is the only organization in the east of Turkey that takes care of donkeys and where the animals can stay without stress and pain until their death.
They have sufficient funding for medical aid and for food, but have no money to install the fencing, provide electricity and a water supply needed to make the shelter 6 times larger.
We are raising money to make this project possible. The costs for the fencing, electricity and water supply amount to 13,000 euros. We also personally (at our own expense) go to the shelter to oversee the work.
According to Ali, they can start installing the fence as early as a month, or no later than 2 months after we have raised the money.
We are looking for animal lovers who want to help the discarded Turkish donkeys with us and with Ali to a safe loving environment, free from pain and stress.
Do you want to help us realise this project? Any donation is welcome.
On behalf of our entire team, thank you so much!
Esther Kef
Animal Heroes has been shown in RTL Nieuws, Hart van Nederland, AD, LINDA, KIDSWEEK.
