More to the point we accept what we see until the evidence of something different makes us think in a very different way.
I have a lovely friend who has always loved and cared for donkeys.
A gentle giant , a farmer who raised cattle and sheep for his living and raised donkeys as his children.
He occasionally gave the donkeys to people who requested a genuine need for them...after he vetted where they were going to live and how they would be cared for.
Over the past few years his herd grew to 17 and he felt he didn't have the time to devote to such a big number and he asked ( as he had done many years previously ) for the Devon donkey sanctuary to consider having some to rehome. Last week they came as he thought to see and pick up a small number of animals. However they arrived with reports of cruelty they had supposedly photographed weeks previously.
My friend went to phone the police and on return found they had loaded the donkeys onboard...he requested to see their paperwork but they had none. He managed to get 7 donkeys back off the lorry but the donkey sanctuary fought with him to keep the rest including his very favourite who he was really close to. The police arrived too late , the van had left.
In case you are thinking this is a one sided story ,his own vet has said the animals needed no more than hoof trimming and obviously if he was in any way abusing animals they would have been there immediately to impound his sheep and cattle. I know him well and he cares more for his animals than he does for humans as he told me once he can trust animals but not humans...Sadly in this shocking case it compounds his belief.
So please if you know anybody who has donkeys tell them to be aware of the 'tricks' being played by the Devon Donkey Sanctuary to 'save' the donkeys of our nation
