World renowned for their work and contribution to the welfare of donkeys, worldwide. The Donkey Sanctuary is the leading authority on all things of this beautiful species.

“Dr. Elisabeth Svendsen MBE founded The Donkey Sanctuary to strive towards a better world for donkeys. We continue her mission to improve the lives of donkeys every day.

For over 50 years, we have looked at the world from the donkey's perspective, and we believe in creating a world where every donkey can express their natural behaviors while experiencing kindness and respect.

We believe in a world where every donkey has the chance to be a donkey, and we will never turn away from a donkey in need, offering sanctuary or support in the community.

We know that we are not alone in our beliefs; donkeys, humans and the planet share a unique relationship that spans generations, cultures, and continents. Experience shows us that we work most effectively in partnership with those who share our vision, including our supporters, partner organizations, NGOs and governments.

Our strategy outlines how we intend to share the rich benefits of our single species focus, guided by our founder's extraordinary dynamism and devotion.

Click to visit: The Donkey Sanctuary

Resource 2 - Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue

Peaceful Valley's Mission is to provide a safe and loving environment to all donkeys that have been abused, neglected or abandoned and wild burros under threat of destruction.

Peaceful Valley strives to provide solutions to the many problems that plague these wonderful creatures by providing ethical stewardship over the funds that are necessary to fulfill this goal.

Peaceful Valley, with its nationwide network of Ranch Facilities and Satellite Adoption Centers, is the country's leader in Rescue, Sanctuary, Adoption and Education.

Together, we can improve the Plight of the American Donkey.

Their Humble Beginning…

Mark and Amy Meyers started the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue as a backyard hobby over two decades ago. After purchasing their first donkey Izzy as a pet, the Meyers’ began to notice other donkeys in their community that were in various stages of abuse and neglect. Not knowing exactly what to do, Amy began buying up these donkeys and Mark spent his evenings talking to the donkeys and fixing their various ailments. It was after the 25th donkey came into the Meyers’ home that they decided to open an actual Rescue so that they would be able to find safe, loving homes for their donkeys.

This simple gesture of love has turned into the largest rescue of its kind in the world. The Meyers’ still stay involved in the day to day operations of the Rescue but they also manage a large staff that ensure the well being of the over 3,000 donkeys under their direct care.

Under the Meyers’ direction, Peaceful Valley has grown to the largest rescue of its kind with facilities all across the United States.

Mark Meyers has been seen on television programs around the world. He has also been a guest on several radio programs and authored several books. His public speaking engagements include business organizations, service clubs and classrooms ranging from the kindergarten to university levels. Mark brings his lively desert adventures, heart-warming rescue stories and living philosophy of compassion everywhere he goes.

Click to visit: Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue

Resource 3 - Karoo Donkey Sanctuary

Founded in 2015 by Jonno Sherwin on his private 17-hectare lifestyle farm in Prince Albert of the Great Karoo region, our journey began. Severe prolonged drought in the area forced a mass-relocation and in March 2021, the sanctuary found a new home in The Crags (outskirts of Plettenberg Bay), on South Africa’s magical coastal Garden Route. The new facility offers 70-hectares of lush grazing and ample natural water, the ideal location for our rescues.

Africa saw the continued growth of theft, brutal bush-slaughter and skinning of donkeys in response to an increased Chinese demand for donkey skins. We acquired the majority of our rescued donkeys in January 2017 at an auction for slaughter in Hartswater, Nothern Cape province of South Africa. Over 500 emaciated, maimed and knife-branded donkeys, and in the region of 150 horses went under the hammer by body-weight that fateful day.

It is our belief that all the donkeys had either been stolen or forcibly acquired by illegal traders in the underground donkey skins trade and that the auction was the result of a significant skins deal having been intervened. Crowdfunding allowed us to save 236 donkeys that day and while we had never had horses in our care, further public donations and an outcry by the equine world meant us saving 36 emaciated horses that were destined for the horse-meat industry.

Click to visit: Karoo Donkey Rescue

Resource 4 - Hee-Haw Halfway House Donkey Rescue

Rachel has been training donkeys since 2010 and rescuing donkeys since 2013. In 2021, she started Hee-haw Halfway House Donkey Rescue privately, and it is now a 501C3 nonprofit! She has a B.S. in Equine Science from CSU. She graduated with Honors with her thesis on Easily Unrecognisable Equine Facial Expressions.

​Rachel's mission is to improve the welfare of donkeys and humans worldwide. Rachel has been a PATH Intl. CTRI for many years and loves working with humans with disabilities and at-risk youth. She combined her passions after training two of her mammoth donkeys as therapeutic riding donkeys.

​Rachel is also an author and has published three books in her "Starting The Donkey Book Series": Starting the Saddle Donkey: A Training Manual, First Edition and Starting The Donkey From Scratch: Wild to Mild, along with Starting The Ownership Journey with Donkeys: A Guide To Care and Keeping. Books can only be bought through Rachel at this time, instructions for ordering are on this website under the "Books" section!

​Rachel has also had multiple articles on longears published in both mule/donkey magazines and in STRIDES, the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International magazine.

Click to visit: Hee-Haw Halfway House Donkey Rescue

Resource 5 - United Horse Coalition

The United Horse Coalition grew out of the Unwanted Horse Summit, which was organized by the American Association of Equine Practitioners and held in conjunction with the American Horse Council’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. in April 2005. The summit was held to bring key stakeholders together to start a dialogue on the plight of horses at-risk in America. Its purpose was to develop consensus on the most effective way to work together to address this issue. In June 2006, the UHC was folded into the American Horse Council and now operates under its auspices.

The United Horse Coalition is a broad alliance of equine organizations that have joined together under the American Horse Council to educate the horse industry about the issues facing horses At-Risk, or in transition. We seek to provide information for existing and prospective owners, breeders, sellers, and horse organizations regarding the long-term responsibilities of owning and caring for horses, as well as focusing on the opportunities available for these horses.

Some of the things that the United Horse Coalition does:

Educating current and future horse owners on responsible ownership, proper care and breeding, and options available before a horse reaches a state of becoming at-risk.

Explaining the issue through presentations at industry gatherings, including horse association meetings, conferences, symposiums, and horse fairs.

Raising awareness about the issue of horses who are at-risk, and its impact on the horse industry.

Reducing the number of at-risk horses and working towards eliminating the problem.

Ensuring that horses are treated humanely and with dignity.

Providing information on end-of-life decisions, including veterinary decisions, euthanasia, and disposal.

Black Mountains Donkey Rescue is proud to be a new member of United Horse Coalition!

Click to visit: United Horse Coalition

Resource 6 - Oscar's Place

Oscar’s Place began during a time when former media executive Ron King was unsure about what his own future looked like. He found himself in Hopland, California, in between jobs and trying to help a friend sell a property. That property was meant to be an animal sanctuary, but it never got off the ground.

He didn’t plan to stay. But then, Ron saw a TikTok video about the heartbreaking fate of unwanted donkeys who find themselves at kill pen auctions, destined for slaughter. He knew he had to do something. That “something” became Oscar’s Place.

Before long, Ron had written a business plan, welcomed the first few donkeys in January 2021, and got to work. Ron and Co-founder Phil Selway chose the name “Oscar’s Place” in honor of Phil’s beloved cat who passed away.

Years later, Oscar’s Place has grown beyond what we initially dreamed was possible. It has become a place where healing happens every day for both donkeys and the humans who love them. Our promise to each donkey who walks through our gates is that we will do everything in our power to keep them safe, healthy, happy, and with their bonded companion for the rest of their life.

Together, we have saved hundreds of donkeys from auctions and welcomed dozens of donkeys from owners who could no longer care for them. Some of our rescues have been rehomed into loving forever families after making a full emotional and physical recovery. Others live out their final chapter at Oscar’s Place.

In August 2025, Oscar’s Place was generously gifted a gorgeous 116-acre property in Potter Valley, California. This allowed us to open our second location, a sanctuary for donkeys who prefer less human interaction to roam freely and live in peace. With two locations, our capacity is now 500 donkeys in our care at any given moment.

Running this rescue and sanctuary has taken the dedication and persistence of countless people. But our work is not done. There are still many donkeys in crisis who need our help. Together, we can create a better world for donkeys.

Oscar’s Place began during a time when former media executive Ron King was unsure about what his own future looked like. He found himself in Hopland, California, in between jobs and trying to help a friend sell a property. That property was meant to be an animal sanctuary, but it never got off the ground.

He didn’t plan to stay. But then, Ron saw a TikTok video about the heartbreaking fate of unwanted donkeys who find themselves at kill pen auctions, destined for slaughter. He knew he had to do something. That “something” became Oscar’s Place.

Before long, Ron had written a business plan, welcomed the first few donkeys in January 2021, and got to work. Ron and Co-founder Phil Selway chose the name “Oscar’s Place” in honor of Phil’s beloved cat who passed away.

Years later, Oscar’s Place has grown beyond what we initially dreamed was possible. It has become a place where healing happens every day for both donkeys and the humans who love them. Our promise to each donkey who walks through our gates is that we will do everything in our power to keep them safe, healthy, happy, and with their bonded companion for the rest of their life.

Together, we have saved hundreds of donkeys from auctions and welcomed dozens of donkeys from owners who could no longer care for them. Some of our rescues have been rehomed into loving forever families after making a full emotional and physical recovery. Others live out their final chapter at Oscar’s Place.

In August 2025, Oscar’s Place was generously gifted a gorgeous 116-acre property in Potter Valley, California. This allowed us to open our second location, a sanctuary for donkeys who prefer less human interaction to roam freely and live in peace. With two locations, our capacity is now 500 donkeys in our care at any given moment.

Running this rescue and sanctuary has taken the dedication and persistence of countless people. But our work is not done. There are still many donkeys in crisis who need our help. Together, we can create a better world for donkeys.

Click here to visit: Oscar's Place