Dr Elisabeth Svendsen, MBE, DVMS

Founder and Administrator

Dr Svendsen has dedicated many years of her life to the rescue and protection of donkeys, and to fight for animal rights and welfare, and to date has taken in 11,000 donkeys!  Hundreds and hundreds of donkeys live at the original Donkey Sanctuary in Devon as well as the Riding Centres in Leeds, Manchester, Sidmouth, and Birmingham where Charlie C. resides. 

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In 1969 the Donkey Sanctuary was founded by Elisabeth D. Svendsen. In 1973 the sanctuary became a charity and in 1974 amalgamated with Miss V. Philpin's donkey sanctuary, Woodley, Berkshire. 

In 1980 Elisabeth D Svendsen was awarded the MBE for her work, then in 1992 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery.

The Sanctuary has 11 farms with a total of 1,800 acres. There are 5 full-time and 60 voluntary Welfare Officers, and the staff number 200.

Administration costs are only 6p in the £1. The Donkey Sanctuary is the fifth largest animal charity in the U.K.

The Donkey Charter

This charter grants to every donkey admitted to the Sanctuary the right of life, regardless of age or health, and to the best possible treatment, care and drugs to preserve its life to the maximum.

It grants permanent peace and freedom, the care and protection of the Sanctuary and the right to return if rehabilitated to a new home.

When the time comes, it grants a dignified peaceful death, this only being induced in the event of extreme suffering and as agreed by both the veterinary advisors and Sanctuary staff.

The Donkey Sanctuary must be the largest Sanctuary in the world for donkeys. Over 11,000 donkeys have now been taken into care. Many of these have been rescued after having been cruelly neglected and others have come to us from loving homes for various reasons i.e. loss of land, illness, etc, when owners have been concerned for their donkeys' future should they be sold on the open market.

Every donkey taken into the Sanctuary is guaranteed a life of loving care.  For many it is the first time in their lives that they have felt loving hands and heard quiet voices. Great attention is given to ensuring that each donkey has individual attention. They are well aware of the strong bonds formed by a group of donkeys and in cases where more than one donkey arrives from a home, they ensure that they remain together at the Sanctuary. Great efforts are taken in pairing up single donkeys, as they are sociable creatures and the majority need the close companionship of their own kind.

Veterinary Care

The Sanctuary has an excellent veterinary hospital designed specifically for treating donkeys. Through their experience they have gained considerable knowledge on donkey care and the veterinary staff are happy to liaise with vets in the U.K. and abroad, giving advice as required.

The Veterinary Hospital

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Through years of experience working with donkeys, Dr Svendsen and the veterinary staff are able to impart this knowledge at veterinary conferences, thereby improving the treatment given to donkeys world-wide. Until a few years ago, the majority of vets tended to treat the donkey as a small horse but we have learnt that the donkey differs in many  ways. A publication "The Professional Handbook of the Donkey", compiled at the Sanctuary, consists of information from donkey specialists world-wide, and is distributed to veterinary universities and practices. A video on Basic Donkey Care is also available.

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Welfare Department

Through the dedicated team of staff and volunteers, reports of cruelty can be investigated quickly anywhere in the U.K. Should you find a donkey in trouble please do not hesitate to contact them. Their Welfare Officers regularly visit horse markets and check on donkeys used on beaches and in Donkey Derbys.

The department is readily available to give free advice on donkey care, either by phone or by a visit from one of the Welfare Officers.

A new intake in need of care

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When a donkey is signed over to the Donkey Sanctuary arrangements are put in hand for him or her to be transported in their purpose-built lorry (no charges are ever made). Should the donkey be in a poor state of health and it is felt that a long journey would be detrimental, then he will be taken to the nearest 'holding base', where they will give him care, veterinary and farriery treatment until he has recovered sufficiently to travel.

Rehabilitation Scheme

The Donkey Sanctuary feel that some donkeys benefit from being in a family home, rather than in a herd environment, and it is for these donkeys that the Rehabilitation Scheme was established. Standards are high and only the very best homes are selected; a short training course on donkey care must then be attended. The donkeys always remain under the Sanctuary's ownership and regular visits are made by the Welfare Officers to check the donkeys' well-being.

Open to the Public

The Donkey Sanctuary strongly feel that supporters have the right to see how their money is spent on caring for their large donkey family. Their main headquarters and intake centre at Slade House Farm, Sidmouth, Devon, is therefore open to the public every day of the year from 9a.m. until dusk. They make no admission charge, nor do they have commercial attractions, but they do have beautiful walks and the dear donkeys, who thoroughly enjoy the extra attention from visitors. There are donkeys of all age ranges at Slade House Farm, but a high percentage are elderly, and remain here to be close to the Veterinary Department. Although all stallions are castrated on arrival, many mares arrive in foal, and their offspring are a real joy.

There is a restaurant, a small room where their videos are shown and an Information Centre where books written by Dr Svendsen, videos of their work and cards can be purchased. The Donkey Sanctuary is situated off the A3052 between Sidford and Branscombe and the Sanctuary is well signposted.

Your help

The Donkey Sanctuary depend entirely on their supporters; they receive no government aid. They are practical and make a large percentage of their own hay but, with such a large donkey family, special feed, veterinary treatment and stabling, it costs a great deal of money.

No donkey is ever refused admittance and they want to keep it this way. There is no membership fee - any donation, whatever the amount, is gratefully received. Regular newsletters keep us informed of their work and purchase of cards, books etc. helps with the funding. Their mailing list is jealously guarded - they NEVER release details to other organizations.

Talks on their work can be arranged for local groups and clubs and training courses on donkey care are held at the Sanctuary in Sidmouth, Devon.

Please help a donkey in distress

Either in the form of a donation or a covenant or by remembering the donkeys in your Will.

Please send cheques or P.O.s made payable to The Donkey Sanctuary to:

The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon, EX10 0NU

e-mail:   est@thedonkeysanctuary.com 

Website:  http://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk 

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Fun Facts!  -  Did you Know?

• It is said that in early days horses and donkeys roamed the valleys and hills, but the horses were much stronger and claimed the lush pastures. Gradually the donkeys had to retreat up the hillsides each side of the valley. So that they could keep in contact with each other they developed loud voices to shout with and big ears to hear with, thus the loud bray and delightfully sensitive large ears.

• A team of sixty-four mules pulled the hearse bearing the corpse of Alexander the Great from Babylon to Alexandria.

• The Emperor Nero's mules had shoes of silver. His wife, the Empress Papiya, used to bathe in asses' milk and she kept five hundred female asses that were milked regularly for this purpose. Her mules wore golden slippers.

• A remedy from the olden days for whooping cough in children was to pick a few hairs from the cross on the donkey's back and hang them in a bag around the child's neck.

• In the Middle Ages the cure for eye trouble was to smear fresh asses' dung over your eyes!

• The Irish say "there are three things that cannot be ruled, a mule, a pig and a woman!"

• It is said that anybody who kisses a mule will be immune to scarlet fever.

• The cure for gout was to bind a "donkey's hoof on the bad foot".

• In Germany many people think it is good luck to eat a green food on the Thursday before Easter. At one time some people believed that if they didn't eat a green salad on that day, they would turn into donkeys.

• In Ireland when a donkey brays another tinker has passed away.

• Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands was occupied by the Danes, but sold to the USA in 1917. It was then decided to change to driving on the right-hand side of the road. However, the donkey refused to abide by the new ruling and it was therefore agreed that all transport should revert to driving on the left.

• The donkey in Africa when attacked by a savage lion, tiger or puma, saves himself by lying on his back kicking his legs in the air.

• In England, bankrupts in the sixteenth century were placed on donkeys face to tail and apparently, at a later date, so were henpecked husbands.

• You can command a horse but with a donkey you have to negotiate!

• The donkey's ancestors were wild asses from Africa and Asia. With the Roman invasion of Britain, donkeys came to England. For 1,500 years no one bothered about them. So why did the donkey begin to attract attention and why was he suddenly needed? The answer was war. For hundreds of years the demand for horses had been difficult to meet. They were either requisitioned by the Army or taken in payment for Taxes. By the sixteenth century horses had become scarce and expensive. The desperate farmer needed a replacement and in England and Wales the replacement was the neglected donkey.

• The heyday of the donkey in Britain was during the last century when it was used on farms and increasingly in towns as a pack animal. At fashionable spas, donkeys transported ladies to take the waters and on the sands the donkeys gave rides to young visitors. Donkeys also supplied the milk! In London a herd made a daily round of some smart residential districts to supply milk for the children of well-to-do families.

• The gestation period of a donkey is ten and a half to fourteen months - no accurate date can be specified as in cattle. The donkey foal stands within minutes of being born and has a full coat of hair. Foals are delicate up to the ago of one year, the main dangers being wet and cold. No mare under the age of four should be put in foal and no donkey under this age should be ridden.

• The smallest donkeys come from the Mediterranean Islands of Sicily and Sardinia. The smallest recorded, fully grown, is 61cm (24in) measured to the shoulder. Donkeys can live to 50+ years, the oldest recorded lived to 57 years. The average lifespan in the UK is 37 years, while overseas it is only 11 years.

• The donkey has numerous religious connections. Joseph's donkey must have been absolutely vital to him to carry Mary to the stable. The cross on the donkey's back was said to have been put there as a reminder to all that he was chosen to carry Jesus on Palm Sunday. The bible always refers to the donkey as "ass"; the name "donkey" being given to the animal years later.

• Donkeys are such patient and loving creatures, thus making them ideal to work with children with special needs. There have been cases where contact with the donkeys has encouraged speech and mobility and, in the majority of cases, children's self-esteem and confidence have increased. The donkey really is a very special animal.

Please note that all the information on this page has been obtained from The Donkey Sanctuary website, and leaflets supplied to me by the staff at The Donkey Sanctuary, who have also kindly given me permission to use these details on my website. 

Copyright of all the photographs and information on this page belong to The Donkey Sanctuary and no infringement of copyright is intended. 

Please do not use the photos etc without the permission of The Donkey Sanctuary Administrators, but please feel free to spread the word of their outstanding work to all and sundry by giving them The Donkey Sanctuary or EST's address or URL or e-mail address!

website:    www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk  

e-mail:      est@thedonkeysanctuary.com 

Write to:   The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon, EX10 0NU, UK.

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