Ik Rem Ook Voor Ezels

I brake for donkeys.

There was no need to brake as I could hardly move so many donkeys were surrounding my truck. A herd of donkey zombies had me cornered and refused to move…or so it seemed.

The Donkey Sanctuary is a 143 acres on Bonaire where feral donkeys are cared for. They are left-overs from the salt production efforts many years ago but were set-free after machinery took over their jobs. Rather than ship them back to Spain, they were released into this desert of cactus and thorny bushes to fend for themselves.

Volunteers at the sanctuary work hard to keep them healthy and offer visitors an opportunity to meet those in their care. The only suggestion I have is to not sell carrots for people to feed them. I happily donated the money for carrots but didn’t want them as I didn’t want the donkeys swarming my truck. But they are well-trained and know how to ambush a vehicle, make it stop by stepping in front of it and then accost anyone within reach of an open window. I think this is really bad behavior for the donkeys to develop.

It got to the point where I turned around and left, so nerve-wracking was it to try to even move the truck. I applaud the good work they do and greatly appreciate the love and care they give these animals. I hope they will stop all feeding from vehicles to retrain these adorable and insistent four-legged friends to not step in front of, ambush, bite windows, bite mirrors, bite people who refuse them food, gnaw on bumpers, run beside vehicles. This is seriously dangerous behavior for them.