Adopting our donkeys, mules, and ponies

7 March 2024

Thank you for the love and generous support you give our animals and our sanctuary. We're extremely grateful - your help really does support the care and well-being of our precious companions.

Animal adoption changes

We’ve made some changes to the number of donkeys, ponies and mules available for adoption and we wanted to let you know why we’ve done this.

We know that adopting an animal can be like welcoming a new family member. It’s special. We want to do our best to make sure your relationship with your donkey and the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary is happy and long lasting. We also want to make sure that your adopted animal is sociable and happy to be around people when you visit.

Donkey welfare at our heart

Our yard team work so closely with all the animals and have spent time carefully reviewing their records and behaviour. We have decided to remove some donkeys from the adoption process due to their age, health issues or because they are not yet confident enough to be constantly in the public eye.

We’re delighted to say that there are still over 50 animals available for adoption. This includes plenty of characters who love the limelight and who will be only too happy to grab the attention!

With the welfare of our animals at the heart of all we do, we wanted to be open with you about why we’ve made the changes we have.

Please note, if you are already adopting a donkey who is no longer available for new adoptions you will still be able to renew the adoption and keep in touch with them.

Find your favourite and start your adoption journey today. If your favourite donkey isn’t on the adoption list, why not make a donation to support them. If you prefer you could treat them to something special from our Amazon Wishlist.

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Equine Treatment Centre

by abigail.fox • 7 November 2024

In late 2022, we started fundraising to establish an equine clinic at the sanctuary. Thanks to your generosity, we raised £125,000 from the initial campaign. This is ringfenced to spend on the Equine Treatment Centre. In the summer of 2023, we paused fundraising and undertook a separate feasibility study, using the generous free support of a civil engineer. We used this opportunity to make sure our build plans were making the very best use of your donations and the funds we had raised. We’ve tweaked the initial plan and have planning permission to undertake a project that will greatly support our high standards of equine welfare. We plan to: Repurpose an existing structure to house the Equine Treatment Centre thus reducing construction costs. Construct an equine rehabilitation barn on the site originally intended for the clinic. Create an isolation barn at the site’s perimeter. This will mean we can provide the very best care for equines needing isolation for medical treatment or observation. We will focus first on building the new barns, then move on to repurposing existing structures into our Equine Treatment Centre. The work cannot start until spring at the earliest, when we hope the ground will have dried out and the machinery will be able to move around the site. We need to make sure our precious paddocks are well looked after while the building work takes place.