Latest news with #donkeys
BBC News
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Richmond museum showcases donkeys and their role in wartime
A military museum in North Yorkshire had a very different type of visitor today - one with long ears, four legs and an important role in conflicts, past and Green Howards Museum in Richmond hosted Tom, Maurice and Teddy, from Blackberry Donkeys, as part of its ongoing Animals Allies were able to get up close with the equines, see authentic wartime packsaddles and VE War brasses, and learn about the role of donkeys in military Erskine, regimental researcher at The Green Howards Museum said: "We think it's important to be more than just the bangs and the bullets, but to tell all those other stories that don't necessarily get coverage." The Donkeys at the Museum event was created in partnership with the Donkey Breed Society, and features a display of purple poppies, created to commemorate all the animals that played a vital role in global wars. The organisation has been showcasing both the poppies and donkeys owned by members of the society around military museums across North Yorkshire, including York Army Museum. Sarah Booth, from the Donkey Breed Society Northern Region, explained: "Donkeys are stoic creatures - we never hear them complain."They've been used - and misused - throughout history. "We want to raise the very important message of the part that donkeys, as well as other equines, and dogs, cats, pigeons and rats, have played in warzones throughout history."Mr Erskine added: "The exhibition has proved to be popular - to do something a little bit different, to appeal to a slightly different audience from the normal audience of a military museum. "We want to stress the army isn't just about fighting - we're using these animals to get humanitarian aid into earthquake zones, to get medicines into hard-to-reach villages in the mountains." Tom, Maurice and Teddy are therapy donkeys, part of a wider group of seven donkeys that are available to hire for educational events, care home visits, and even television Marie Bates said: "The nature of the donkeys - how they are around people - just makes them amazing animals. They're so calming."But when not providing a calming influence, they love playing football and have their own unique personality quirks - according to Ms Bates."Teddy, particularly, is a little cheeky chap. His favourite treat is ginger biscuits, and I'm sure he'll have a couple of those before he goes home at the end of the day!" Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
The Sun
28-05-2025
- General
- The Sun
Inside tiny UK village where cars are BANNED, donkeys make deliveries & you must pay entry – but drivers love visiting
A VILLAGE in the South of England offers the perfect tranquil getaway - with donkeys and sledges instead of cars. It is one of few places in Europe that has a total ban on cars, as its steep topography makes it impossible to drive there. 5 5 5 Clovelly Village in North Devon offers visitors a unique trip, with its historic way of life offering a reprieve from daily annoyances. Home to around 440 people, the remote village boasts cobbled streets, medieval-style properties, and no chain stores. The village was previously owned by both the Queen and William the Conquerer - although it is now privately owned by John Rous after he inherited from his mother in 1983. The Hamlyn family have managed the village since 1738, as it was largely "unknown to the outside world" according to the village's official website. Its unique setting gives visitors the opportunity to travel back in time through a location steeped in maritime history. For those looking to escape modern life, Clovelly is one of few places in Europe that enforces a blanket ban on road vehicles. Historically, donkeys were responsible for transporting goods to the town although locals have mostly relied on sledges since the 1970s. There are, however, still a group of donkeys living at the top of the village. Its stunning coastal walks include a pebbled beach, a Lifeboat House, stunning sea views, as well as a waterfall. To explore further, visitors can embark on a boat trip around the bay, a chartered fishing trip, or take a boat to Lundy Island. The English holiday resort that families say is a 'fancy Center Parcs' For those looking to keep their feet firmly planted ashore, the picturesque village has the Court Gardens, which contains Victorian greenhouses, and the 12th-century All Saints Church. There is also a hotel with a restaurant, a tea room, and two museums to keep visitors entertained. Rather than the usual chain stores, the village shops are all independent, selling silk, pottery, soap and shoes. Depending on when you go to the village, you could visit its annual festivals, including the Seaweed Festival, the Lobster and Crab Festival, or the Herring Festival. Its also rumoured to be the home of a cave where Merlin, the magician of Arthurian legend, was born. Visitors can access the village through the visitor centre which charges £9.50 for adults, and £5.50 for children. Funds raised from the charges goes towards local tree planting and conservation, helping to maintain the area. 5 5 Its website reads: "There has always been a charge to visit Clovelly. "Like most historical landmarks (e.g. National Trust sites), we heavily rely on entrance fees for the essential maintenance and upkeep that comes with an ancient village perched on a 400 foot cliff, with no vehicular access." Those driving to the village can also use the free parking included with the ticket price.
Al Jazeera
27-05-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Photos: A free clinic for donkeys, vital to Ethiopia's economy
Ethiopia is believed to host the world's largest population of donkeys – one in five of the global total, according to the United Nations. The humble donkey is a cornerstone of the national economy, and the Donkey Sanctuary – a free clinic run by a British charity – is crucial in Addis Ababa. Set near Merkato, the city's sprawling open-air market, it provides care for animals that are often indispensable to their owners' livelihoods. Several dozen donkeys stand in enclosures at the clinic – some agitatedly kicking their legs, others hungrily tucking into their food. Caregivers and veterinarians move from animal to animal, treating a range of ailments including injuries, colic and eye conditions. Among them is Guluma Bayi, 38, who had walked more than an hour and a half, leading his two donkeys to the clinic. 'It has been three weeks since my donkeys became sick,' said Guluma. 'One has a leg problem and the other has a stomach issue.' Like many, Guluma depends on his donkeys for his livelihood, using them to transport jerrycans of water for sale in his community. 'After they became ill, I couldn't buy bread for my children,' he said. 'I begged a guy to bring me here.' According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Ethiopia was home to some nine million donkeys as of 2018. In this East African nation of approximately 130 million people, donkeys play a chief economic role, ploughing fields and transporting goods – offering a low-cost alternative to vehicles at a time when the price of fuel has soared. Another regular visitor, Chane Baye, earns his living by using his two donkeys to transport sacks of grain across the city for clients. His income can range from 200 to 400 birr per day (approximately $1.50 to $3) – a decent sum in a country where a third of the population lives below the World Bank's poverty line of $2.15 a day. The 61-year-old seeks out the clinic every three months or so – 'whenever they start limping or have a stomach problem', he said. 'Before this clinic, we used traditional ways to treat them,' he explained, describing how nails were once crudely removed from the animals' legs with a knife. He is grateful that his donkeys now have access to professional care for their injuries and infections. At the clinic, vet Derege Tsegay demonstrates the less glamorous side of his work by performing a routine but unpleasant procedure – reaching deep into a distressed donkey's rectum, clad in a rubber glove. Derege removes a large mass of stool that had accumulated in the animal's digestive tract. 'It happens often,' he remarked. A lack of adequate food in the city frequently leads donkeys to ingest whatever they find – including plastic bags – which can wreak havoc on their digestive health. Though the work is often challenging, Derege takes pride in what he does. 'I am proud of what I am doing … because I am trying to solve the problem of so many owners that rely on their donkeys,' he said with a smile.
Globe and Mail
26-05-2025
- General
- Globe and Mail
At first she ghosted me, then dropped me with AI. I'm not sure which was worse
First Person is a daily personal piece submitted by readers. Have a story to tell? See our guidelines at I met my friend in university. We shared a birthday, and we used to share an irreverent sense of humour. Both of us without siblings, there was a kinship. Over the course of 25 years, despite a chasm of several thousand kilometres, we maintained an emotional closeness. Just a few years ago, during a challenging time in her life, I flew across the continent to tend to her donkeys so she could attend to her own well-being. Highlights of my stay included mucking stalls in the 40-degree temperatures, skirting scuttling tarantulas (it was tarantula mating season) and sweaty co-sleeping with her pit bull. I wouldn't describe it as a comfortable visit, but I didn't mind as it was an important one. It was also an escape from my increasingly predictable life and the pandemic lockdowns. I had always enjoyed my friend's quirkiness, her love of animals and her life off the beaten path. Recently, this path had veered toward alternate forms of energy healing, including tuning forks and sound baths – not really my thing. A few months ago, I sent what I intended as a playful text that may have been seen as making light of whom she was aspiring to become. Soon thereafter, I noticed a chill. While I was visiting her city, she was 'too drained' to meet for dinner and cancelled our plans. I admit, I was a bit relieved. Our differences were making it challenging to find common ground. Her new interests seemed to have edited out her self-deprecating humour that I had once so thoroughly enjoyed. In turn, I suspect she found me spiritually bankrupt or terminally cynical. Unfortunately, it seems I will never know. I didn't want our friendship to end based on a single text that may have been hurtful to her. After a few failed attempts to meaningfully check in, I apologized if my note had landed sideways and suggested a phone call. In return, I got an e-mail that, at first glance, seemed civil and thoughtful. It thanked me for my apology, said 'nothing dramatic' had happened, but admitted that 'things had shifted for her' and she 'no longer felt a pull to stay in touch.' She wished me well for 'whatever is next.' Part of me admired her honesty. We all outgrow some friendships but sometimes maintain them out of obligation. Maybe this was what 'conscious uncoupling' (or in this case, conscious unfriending) is all about? Perhaps her approach had more integrity than my efforts to limp along out of shared history and a sense of duty. But something – besides my bruised ego – was nagging at me. The syntax of her e-mail was troubling: it was formal and used em dashes that weren't her style. Her sentiments were expressed in a vague and rather generic manner. Upon the suggestion of a much more tech-savvy friend, I ran this message through an AI checker. While not infallible, it suggested that her message was entirely written by AI. After a 25-year friendship, it seemed that I had been dumped by a bot. Let me diverge for a moment. Despite working part-time in academia, I had not yet become 'AI-empowered.' Like my long since departed grandmother, who had felt too old to master the VCR, I simply refused to embrace this new technology. I found it creepy, and I wanted to think for myself. My husband, captivated with AI, talked about 'Claude,' a seemingly French chatbot whom he thinks to be vastly improving his life. When Eric asked me a question, I would sometimes tease, 'let's just consult with Claaaude …'. Now, since having been bot-dumped, I've been tooling around with AI, myself. My friends and I have enlisted it to produce off-colour songs about each other set to Whitney Houston soundtracks. I also asked Claude for a menu of possible replies to my friend's message. (None of which I sent.) It (he?) started by acknowledging how painful that message must have been. Claude had been supremely, but eerily, validating. As a therapist, I was scratching my head and more than a little fearful for my job. When I think about my friend's goodbye e-mail, I wonder if breaking up with friends is unnecessarily dramatic. Is it more natural to have relationships slowly die on the vine? Should the world spin based on polite white lies and loosely sustained connections or is there a clarity and integrity in consciously acknowledging that we no longer find a connection fulfilling? The effort of grieving may be more than this situation calls for, and yet, I do feel some sadness not only about the loss of the specific connection, but also loss of connection more broadly. I will never know whether my former friend used this tool to help her find words for her feelings or whether she just couldn't be bothered to speak from the heart. I am left questioning at what precipice are we now standing with AI, and where will I stand a year from now? Will we be 'empowered' or enhanced, or will we have a convenient shortcut that removes the essence from the ways we are meant to relate? Perhaps I'll just ask Claude. Julie Goldenson lives in Toronto.
Times
12-05-2025
- General
- Times
Farmhouse for sale — with five free donkeys and a pub
Country houses are usually on sale with barns and Agas, but this property in South Gloucestershire comes with five donkeys and its own pub. The owners of Langton Farm, a seven-bedroom house in Siston, a quiet village on the outskirts of Bristol, are looking for an animal-loving buyer so their donkeys can stay in the home they love. Lauren, who did not wish to give her last name, went to see a donkey for sale with her husband ten years ago but they discovered five that she claims had been starved and neglected. They bought all five donkeys and took them back to their farmhouse with ten stables and 40 acres of grounds for them to enjoy. Following repeated visits to vets and farriers, who
