Blindlove Working Donkey Program, Grahamstown, South Africa Castrations update February 2024

Your much appreciated donations have helped fund veterinarians to successfully carry out a gelding campaign of 10 male donkeys in February, in Grahamstown, South Africa. This is important, given the donkey population is out of control, with free roaming donkeys all over the town and roads, eating out of garbage bins and often causing motor vehicle accidents in the township.

Let’s hear from Blindlove how all this was achieved:

In 2023 we set out to hold a gelding campaign, with the goal to castrate 10 male donkeys in the Grahamstown townships.

This task proved to be more difficult than first expected! We had to explain to owners the reasons we needed to do this and why the males are to have it done and not the females!

When we held our first gelding campaign in August 2023 they all arrived with females in tow! On that day however we managed to geld one stallion!

We finally got the gelding campaign going again in February 2024 together with the vets from the Grahamstown Veterinary Clinic and the Grahamstown SPCA.

We had five stallions to castrate on Monday 4th February. One. however could not be done due to a massive hernia that had formed very close to his testes, from a stab wound last year which Dr Annie remembers treating. She said if this boy were to be castrated, we might run the risk of his intestines falling out where the hernia was, so she would rather not risk it.

The other four were all successfully gelded. While under sedation, they also all had their hooves quickly trimmed, teeth checked, dewormed and sprayed for flies!

Upon following up, all are recovering well. We have taken owners’ names and are planning the next date for the last five to be done. Once owners see the males become easier to handle, fight less with other stallions and roam less, we then feel that more owners come forward with these males to go under castration.

Thank you so much for your wonderful support, as because of you, Blindlove has received the much needed help and funds for veterinarians to come and help keep the donkey population under some control in Grahamstown, South Africa.