Retired donkeys grazing |
|
|
|
Dawn Repetto sent these two delightful photos of groups of donkeys grazing by Goose Hill on 4th January 2016. | |
Editor's Notes: It looks like the group of donkeys number about nine animals. Dawn refers to them as 'retired' as donkeys are no longer used to carry loads, historically people and / or goods like firewood. They compete with cattle and sheep for limited pasture, and so, from time to time the Island Council consider a cull to limit their numbers. Nostalgia currently reigns, and this group represents a 'healthy' little herd. During one Island Council donkey purge in the 1980s, only those donkeys used by their owners for carriage could remain, so there was a spate of donkey riding, always conspicuous, so owners could keep their animals! |