A community engagement project led by the University of Pretoria (UP) is focusing its efforts on holistically improving the welfare of donkeys and the well-being of people in rural communities.

The Bahananwa Community Welfare and Livelihood Support project is providing support for donkeys in 10 villages in the Blouberg Municipality in Limpopo.

The project is being led by Dr Quixi Sonntag, Community Engagement Coordinator in the Faculty of Veterinary Science at UP, with Dr Isabel Meyer of animal welfare NGO One Revolution and Professor Leanne Scott of the Department of Statistical Sciences at the University of Cape Town.

Donkeys, owners, compulsory community service vets and researchers

The project aims to establish mechanisms of support to ensure sustained benefit for the community and its animals. About one-third of South Africans live in rural communities, and many do not have easy access to veterinary services.

“Donkeys are used by the communities in Blouberg for ploughing fields and to transport water, wood, building materials and people,” she says. “The animals are often rented out, which means they are also a source of income.”

Through a community-administered survey, the team identified several issues that could be addressed to better care for the donkeys. These include healthier nutrition to improve their physical condition, well-fitted harnesses to reduce skin lesions, and better cart designs to make the carriers safer.

“We hope to expand the project to facilitate the training of local animal welfare workers who can liaise with local veterinarians,” Dr Sonntag says. “In the long term, we envision a satellite practical-training facility for Veterinary Science students. It is essential that our project leads to a sustainable programme that will benefit the local community and its animals.”

Through this project, contact between the community and the local compulsory community service (CCS) veterinarians in the nearest town was established to improve access to veterinary services. “We hope that our model will be applicable to other CCS clinics in the country to encourage national application,” Dr Sonntag says.

The experience gained through this project could inform curriculum development at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, she adds.