Ten donkeys destined for slaughter in France have been saved by the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary.
The mission to rescue the donkeys began in November last year.
The UK charity worked alongside Tracy Bradford at Pour L’Amour des Anes 29, a sanctuary in Brittany, to rehome the equines.
Along the way, the Isle of Wight sanctuary agreed to take two more “slaughterhouse animals” from Felicity Taylor at The Pegasus Sanctuary in Normandy.
Those donkeys were named Hope and Charity by supporters of the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary.
The donkeys route to England was full of obstacles, including covid restrictions, closure of borders, Brexit regulations and heavy snow, which delayed their arrival for months.
On 20 February Jiva, Javette, Jenny, Jumpy, Josephine, Hope and Charity, and foals Kitchi and Koko, finally arrived in the Isle of Wight, safely transported by John Parker International Horse Transport.
“At 2.15pm this afternoon, 10 beautiful French donkeys arrived at their new home here at the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary,” said a spokesman for the charity shortly after their arrival.
“They were chilled, unfazed and trotted off as if they had lived here all their life.”
The charity thanked all those who had made the donkey’s rescue possible.
“We have all worked incredibly hard to reach this point, and everybody has supported the donkeys during their wait to reach their forever home,” added the spokesman.
“Our heroines are Tracy Bradford and Felicity Taylor who fight hard to rescue animals in France with very little support or recognition.
“We also can’t thank John Parker transporters enough. They usually work with European travel for horses and their staff were brilliant.
“We would recommend them to any horse owner needing transportation services.”
