Donkeys of Aruba
The Aruba Donkey Sanctuary, established 11 years ago, gave the island animals a loving home and has erased years of maltreatment. The Aruban donkey was once essential to islanders’ transportation, and has been a resident for 500 years, ever since the Spanish introduced them as a form of transportation.
When cars and buses became commonplace on this arid Caribbean isle, the donkeys, who had numbered close to 1,000 in the early 1900s, were rendered redundant. Many locals set their donkeys free or sold them to the circus where they were butchered for tiger food. The government resorted to shooting stray donkeys until by the 1970s there were only 20 left. Ramon Boekhoudt and Mervine Kock, local islanders, decided to open a donkey sanctuary in 1997.
“We were compelled to try and help the donkeys after seeing them killed by cars and people, maltreated, poisoned and left to die tied under a tree without water and food,” Boekhoudt says.
In the region of Santa Lucia on donated land, they created a refuge of 15,000 square metres where the donkeys could live out their days happily and safely. Today volunteers care for some 60-odd donkeys. There are still approximately 100 donkeys wandering wild in Aruba.
The Aruba Donkey Sanctuary hosts school groups and tourists. Its goal is to educate the public about these sweet natured creatures, and in the process, reduce animal maltreatment.
Read more at Canada.com. Visit the Sanctuary web site for details, and to learn how you can help their efforts.