Abused donkey plight touches artist
[caption id="attachment_98103" align="aligncenter" width="500"] MANE MAN: Photographer Marlene Neumann cuddles Sebastian, a donkey who was so badly abused by his owner that he shunned human contact Picture: SUPPLIED/DispatchLive[/caption]
A hunt for a picture of the perfect aloe first alerted East London fine-art photographer Marlene Neumann to the plight of donkeys in the province.
While hunched in the dirt outside a village in Grahamstown‚ Neumann said she looked up just as a donkey cart approached‚ with the driver whipping the animals every few seconds.
The four harnessed donkeys looked tired‚ Neumann said‚ and had a wire bridle strapped to their mouths.
A concerned Neumann said she bought two pineapples loaded on the cart on condition the bridles be removed.
The occupants agreed‚ but Neumann said she could not sleep that night.
After asking the SPCA to track them down‚ an almost impossible feat given the number of donkeys in Grahamstown‚ Neumann took it upon herself to find the animals on a return trip to the village the following weekend.
“I managed to find the village and the woman who was the other passenger in the cart‚ but not the owner of the donkeys‚” she said.
“Somebody gave me a number for Jenny Copley‚ who runs a donkey outreach programme in Grahamstown. “I hoped she could do something.”
Copley works in eight villages in the Amathole and Makana region‚ educating people on donkey safety and health through her F.A.C.E. (Farm Animal Centre and Education) organisation.
With hundreds of donkeys in the villages‚ physical abuse and injuries due to incorrect harnessing and hitching are the major concerns F.A.C.E. deals with.
F.A.C.E also rescues other farm and domestic animals.
“Jenny goes into the villages and educates villagers on how to properly care for their animals.
“She has also introduced a more humane hitching system for harnesses and is training community members on how to make plastic bridles that won’t hurt the donkeys‚” Neumann said.
Jumping on board‚ Neumann visited Copely’s animal sanctuary in Manley Flats‚ where she was introduced to several rehabilitated donkeys.
Here she found Sebastian‚ a donkey that had been so abused he shied away from human contact.
“Through Jenny’s programme she has rehabilitated him to trust humans again.
“I didn’t know donkeys like to be loved before this.
“When I realised this‚ I knew I had to do something to help her raise funds to help more of these animals.”
With her volunteer group‚ Buckaroo‚ a team of animal lovers dedicated to improving the quality of life of all animals‚ she began exploring fundraising ideas.
After roping in property mogul Pam Golding‚ it was decided to use a charity garden initiative to raise funds.
For two days in October‚ 20 of the city’s most scenic gardens will be open to the public and all money raised from the initiative will go to the donkey programme. – Zisanda Nkonkobe [Daily Dispatch, RDM News Wire]
