One of the UK's best-loved animal sanctuaries is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary provides a home and medical care for abused and abandoned donkeys from across Europe.

Located in the beautiful Devon countryside, at Slade House Farm, the sanctuary has rescued more than 15,500 donkeys and mules since it first opened in 1969. It gives the animals all the veterinary care they need and provides them with a safe and loving home for the rest of their lives.

© Geza Farkas / Adobe Stock

 

Sanctuary's history

Animal lover Dr Elisabeth Svendsen MBE founded the sanctuary as a result of her childhood love of donkeys. Born in 1930 in Yorkshire, the young Elisabeth Knowles hadn't seen donkeys close-up until she was eight years old.

On a day trip to the coastal resort of St Annes-on-Sea in Lancashire with her family in 1938, they drove past a field full of donkeys, presumably those who would give visitors a donkey ride on the beach in St Annes and neighbouring Blackpool. The youngster thought they were wonderful creatures and afterwards, she would ask her father to take a detour whenever they went out in the car so that she could see and pet donkeys!

On leaving school, she became a secretary and then a school teacher. She married Niels Svendsen and they had four children. The Svendsens invented a special dryer to help with the laundry, as they had a continual flow of babies' cloth nappies to deal with. They patented the design and sold the manufacturing rights, using the money to buy a Devon hotel in 1966.

 

Dream comes true

Later, they divorced, but Elisabeth loved Devon and continued to live there. She decided to realise her childhood dream of working with animals and adopted her first donkey, whom she called Naughty Face, in 1969. After seeing more donkeys in overcrowded small pens at livestock markets, she knew she had to help.

She opened her own donkey and mule sanctuary and lived on the premises, which were rather run down at first. She renovated the sanctuary and funded the refurbishment and day-to-day costs herself.

Elisabeth had given up her hotel to look after the donkeys full-time by 1973 and had 38 permanent residents at the sanctuary. Then, she was hit by a financial crisis, after an elderly animal lover, Violet Philpin, formerly of the Helping Hand Animal Sanctuary near Reading, bequeathed 204 donkeys to Elisabeth in her will.

 

Charity status

At that point, Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary changed to charity status in order to survive. Then, in the 1970s, Elisabeth launched a second charity, the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust for Children and Donkeys, offering riding therapy for special needs children.

Since the sanctuary's launch 50 years ago, thousands of animals have been given a safe home for life. Elisabeth received the OBE in 1980 and the RSPCA's highest honour, the Lord Erskine Award, in 2001 for her services to animal welfare.

Following her death in 2011, at the age of 81, her sanctuary has lived on, thanks to the generosity of the public, who keep it going with their donations. It's now a global concern, which helps thousands of animals and also runs an educational programme on welfare issues for people who own working donkeys and mules all over the world.

People who use donkeys in industry, tourism and leisure are given help and advice on issues such as working practices, routine care and suitable harnessing for the animals. The charity also monitors the donkey trade, partnering with more than 40 countries to end abuse.

There are further welfare programmes for feral donkeys: sadly, most of these are former working donkeys who have been thrown out when they become too old and infirm to pull a cart or carry a load. The Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary is a point of contact for animal welfare advocates in Sri Lanka, Brazil and the Caribbean and helps to launch welfare programmes there.

 

50th anniversary

Various events have been organised to celebrate the sanctuary's 50th anniversary. These have included a beautiful garden called Donkey's Matter at the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show in May to promote the charity's work.

The sanctuary has also released many archive images of the sanctuary and its residents during the early years.

In addition, the first Dawdle for Donkeys, on Saturday 15th June, features a fundraising walk of either 5km or 10km around the beautiful Sidmouth countryside. It's a chance for friends and family members to enjoy the exercise and the sights while raising money for the donkeys.

The Donkey Sanctuary is open to visitors 365 days a year, from 9am until dusk. It has been awarded Centre of Excellence status for its welfare projects and standards of care.

If you can help Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary to improve the lives of millions of donkeys, they are always grateful for any donations, big or small.

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