Bela Bela in South Africa is an impoverished, forgotten community, rampant with crime, drugs and violence. Donkeys there are continuously mistreated, overworked and abused.
People are so poor they overload donkey carts and use painful, makeshift harnesses that cause the donkeys terrible injuries. Many of the donkeys suffer from lameness, injured hooves, infected wounds and injuries caused by whips and beatings. They get no medical treatment and are worked until they drop.
COVID has made poor people poorer and angry at the world. And some take it out on donkeys who can’t fight back. Donkeys are being tortured, maimed and left to die agonizing deaths. This is not an exaggeration – remember us telling you about a donkey who had its legs hacked off because it was too weak to pull a cart? That’s the kind of thing we must deal with and that’s why your help is desperately needed to save these gentle and trusting creatures from a life of pain.