Five donkeys dumped at sanctuary in as many weeks

A "terrified" donkey abandoned in the middle of the night was one of five to be dumped outside a sanctuary in as many weeks.

Linda Gilbert, who runs Barnhill Donkeys Retreat in Sleagill near Penrith in Cumbria, said she had called the female Hope because, despite being scared, she was beginning to be less "shutdown" after being cared for for five days.

Ms Gilbert said some people buy donkeys as Christmas presents then realise they are difficult to care for and dump them, fearing prosecution for neglect.

It takes many months to nurse donkeys back to health but it is hoped that a new, vetted owner will be found for Hope to give the "amazing" girl a good home, Ms Gilbert said.

Hope was discovered in bushes near the sanctuary in the early hours of Friday.

In recent weeks, another donkey with an injured eye was also dumped outside the haven.

"We managed to get her off the road at four in the morning," Ms Gilbert said.

"She had an injury to her eye but we have great vets who had a look and she was terrified but totally fine."

She said: "I don't think it's good to dump a donkey before it dies. We are on a single-track road and a milk tanker goes up it in the morning.

"If there's a donkey in the middle of nowhere in the pitch black that jumps out at drivers, it's going to go through the windscreen or end up under the wheels.

"It is going to get killed or someone is going to get killed or injured."

For the first few days in her new home, Hope was so terrified she would run away from hens.

However, Ms Gilbert said she was "coming round".

"She's snuggling with people and she lay down in straw earlier and her face was pure joy," she said.

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