America's Huge Ass Problem

Nope, for once this isn't about America's obesity crisis.

Quick, which American equine is the least desireable?

If you answered donkey/ass/burro, you just won the grand prize: 2,000 free donkeys. Can't take 'em? Neither can anyone else.

In the past three years, droughts, wildfires and flooding have devastated many middle/western states. Texas in particularly was hard-hit. Now, Indiana and Illinois farmers are shredding what little corn they have left just to feed their cattle. Hay is non-existant in many places. Colorado, of course, is on fire, Louisiana is in a drought crisis, eastern Iowa looks like a desert... basically, over half of the country looks like burned dog shit. It's officially the largest drought since 1956.

  

America: More brown than the infamous "tanning mom"



The animals suffer, of course-- but some suffer more than others. The underfed cattle at least got sold, once ranchers ran out of feed-- a quick death. Many horses were, and still are, being sold, given away, abandoned or even starved, but there's something about horses that make them slightly more recession-proof. They're more romantic, rideable, pretty, valuable and more recognizeable (so you can't dump them anonymously as easily). Everyone who ever read "Black Beauty" is at least inclined to call the police about any starving horses they see. Plus, there's always the French meat market as a last resort.



For donkeys, however, there are absolutely no options. Nobody, not even a Frenchman, wants to eat a donkey. Auction houses in Texas are now absolutely refusing to even accept donkeys in the ring, because no one bids on them. The few people that are in a position to adopt right now usually want a rideable equine, or at least one without a reputation for stubborness. So what happens? The donkeys get dumped. Literally, on the side of the road, dumped.

The Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue, based in Texas, took in 686 donkeys last year and are already set to break that record, having taken in 474 donkeys already this year. Many of them were actually rescued from the side of the road. See their press release. One animal control officer in Athens, Louisiana has personally taken on hundreds from his parish alone. This Iowa woman rescued a group of donkeys at an auction for $20 each-- their compatriots dumped along Iowa roadsides are less fortunate. Even Hawaii has had a donkey problem!

It's such a crisis in America that western sherrif departments now say it's common for people to actually sneak onto other ranchers' lands in order to dump donkeys. I can't imagine being so desperate as to try to sneak a pack of donkeys anywhere, but that's how bad things are. And we're just talking about relatively tame, domesticated donkeys here-- can you imagine how badly the wild burros are suffering?

So what can you do to help?

• Adopt a donkey from your local equine rescue, or even from an out-of-state rescue.
• Adopt a Wild Burro from the BLM. They even have online auctions!
• Donate to the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue.
• Become a Satellite Adoption Center for PVDR.
• Spread awareness on your blog, Facebook, website, Twitter, etc.
• Volunteer at a local horse or donkey sanctuary (Holy Land Donkeys is just one in Wisconsin).

Finally, you can educate yourself, and others, about donkeys. Many myths and bad stereotypes prevent donkeys from finding good homes. They are not stubborn, mean or nasty-- they're intelligent, adaptable, wary and independent. The PVDR has a great FAQ here. I had no idea donkeys carried their foals for a full year! Or that the word "donkey" comes from the old English words for "dun" (the grey color) and "ky" (meaning little). Neat stuff. PVDR also has this cute fan-made video. Enjoy:

Neglected Horses in Texas: Drought & Famine

The drought in Texas has continued unabated for months and months. Lakes have disappeared, pastures have turned into deserts and hay fields have shriveled into weedy dirt lots. The result is soaring hay prices, abandoned horses and overworked horse rescue organizations.

Here's just one article about the problem: Yahoo News: Texas Drought Leaves Heartbreaking Toll of Abandoned Horses

...and here's one very competent, very well-run Texas horse rescue trying to cope with dozens of unwanted horses, to the point that they can't take in any more: Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society
They have dozens upon dozens of really nice horses desperate for homes, and the organization has waived or lowered adoption fees on many of them. I myself am desperately in love with some of their donkeys (but the hubby has vetoed adoption of any pets of the long-eared variety).

"Jack Sparrow," a super cute donkey available for just $200.

The drought is so severe, it's the worst Texas has experienced in its history, at least since records started being kept in 1895. With all the water drying up, weird things are being found all over the state, including previously submerged slave cemeteries, ancient Indian remains, drowning victims and even missing pieces from the doomed space shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated over hundreds of miles of land in 2003. The NYTimes has a great article here.

The most heartbreaking and interesting news piece I've run across is a photoblog on the disaster done by Collective Vision here.

 

The animals in Texas are obviously suffering, and if you have any spare change, I urge you to donated it to Bluebonnet or any other horse rescue organization in Texas.

One question: why aren't there more free horses in Texas Craigslist ads? Admittedly I only browsed briefly, but there are far fewer free horses there than this level of tragedy would seem to create. Sure, there are cheap horses, and a few free companion-only horses, but no more than in Wisconsin. Do Texas people simply not use Craigslist as much? Are ranchers there just sending horses to slaughter instead? Is there a stubborn feeling among ranchers that there's just no way they'll give horses away for free? If you know, please tell us.