Matabeleland Animal Rescue & Equine Sanctuary (MARES) November Report 2023
Below is the report from our Zimbabwe partner group, MARES, for their Vulindlela and Jembwe Community Donkey Clinic on the 14th and 15th of NOVEMBER, 2023:
A follow-up donkey clinic was conducted on the 14th and 15th of November 2023 at Vulindlela and Jembwe communities by Matabeleland Animal Rescue & Equine Sanctuary (MARES) in partnership with Greenline Africa (GA). The team comprised of MARES five-person team and this time the team was joined by a Farrier who was responsible for checking hooves for the donkeys and trimming overgrown hooves. The GA six-person team was joined by two of their Trustees. The targeted communities were Vulindlela and Jembwe and the main activities that took place over the two day period was the vaccination and deworming of donkeys, trimming of overgrown hooves, distribution of harnessing equipment, checking of carts that were done in the previous workshops and replacing and repairing harnessing equipment where needed. During the two days a total of 45 families (22 families from Vulindlela and 23 families from Jembwe) were reached, 212 donkeys (Vulindlela 129 and Jembwe 83) were attended to, 10 families from Vulindlela community had their carts done for the first time and received humane padded harness equipment, 10 families from Jembwe community had their carts rechecked and some repairs and replacements done that included padding for yokes and harnesses, split pins, nuts, swingle trees and yokes. 8 families had their carts redone for the first time.
1. Donkey Clinic Activities
The two days donkey clinic had five major activities that it focused on and these were;
• Vaccination of donkeys
• Deworming of donkeys
• Checking and trimming of donkey hooves
• Distribution of harness equipment
• Rechecking of carts that were done in the previous workshops and doing repairs and replacements where needed.
1.1 Vaccination
A vaccination exercise for the donkeys was done by the MARES team in Vulindlela and Jembwe communities. The donkeys were vaccinated against rabies and tetanus. This helps to boost their immunity as well as to fight infections and disease thereby keeping donkeys healthy. A total of 190 donkeys were vaccinated and 22 did not receive vaccination as they were below the age limit for vaccination and too heavily pregnant. The pregnant donkeys will be vaccinated once their foals are born. However, they were dewormed. The Vulindlela community was very grateful of this exercise as they indicated that they had never had their donkeys vaccinated before. Jembwe community members also highlighted that since their donkeys started receiving vaccinations through this programme there has been a reduction in the rate at which donkeys suffer from diseases.
1.2 Deworming
The deworming of donkeys was also one of the key activities that were conducted during the donkey clinic. This protects donkeys against worm burden that might have serious consequences on the health of the donkey like weight loss, diarrhoea, poor coat and general ill health which includes anaemia and protein loss. A total of 212 donkeys were dewormed.
1.3 Trimming of donkey hooves
The trimming of overgrown hooves was done by an experienced Farrier from the MARES team. A total of 74 donkeys were reached through this exercise. The Farrier first explained to participants the importance of trimming donkey hooves citing that untrimmed hooves will cause problems with walking or standing and even lameness. Some participants who had their donkeys identified for trimming concurred with what was being taught as their donkeys were experiencing the cited problems but they could not tell what the problem was. Jembwe and Vulindlela Community members both appreciated this kind of knowledge as they did not know that donkey hooves can been trimmed and maintained in good shape and size.
1.4 Distribution of donkey Harnessing Equipment
The distribution of humane padded harnesses and other items was done in Vulindlela by Charles from MARES being assisted by Bheki from Greenline Africa. A total of 7 families were reached, meaning 7 carts were attended to and 14 donkeys fitted with humane-padded harness. The distributed equipment comprised of Harnesses, Swingle trees and Yokes. Each cart that was done on the day had a registration plate with MARES logo installed on them. The registration numbers will be added in future for monitoring purposes.
1.5 Replacement of donkey harnessing equipment
A follow up was made on carts that received harnessing equipment in the previous 2022 donkey workshops that were done in Jembwe. The follow-up was as a result of concerns raised by Claire indicating that communities are not abiding to what they had been taught. During the follow-up exercise a total of 10 carts were checked and on all the carts replacements of different items was done. It was noted that most items that needed replacement was padding for harnesses and yokes.
1.6 Wounds and Ailments in donkeys
During the two days, it was noted with concern that some donkeys have wounds that need veterinarian attention. The possible cause of these wounds was poor harnessing. A total of 7 donkeys (4 donkeys from Vulindlela and 3 donkeys from Jembwe) had wounds and some ointment was applied and further referred to the veterinarian for further treatment. One donkey from Jembwe had a deep wire laceration that needed immediate attention. The veterinarian was advised to come and check on the adult donkey for treatment.
Also in Jembwe, a little foal was diagnosed with malnutrition and had rickets. The foal together with the mother was immediately taken from the owner for further care by Greenline Africa and to be returned to the owner once it recovers. Supplementary feeding of 50kg pony meal was provided by MARES to help the young foal recover at the same time it was to graze on the evergreen lawn grass. Mr Mpala was given the responsibility of looking after the foal. Good progress has been reported and the veterinarian went and attended to the foal.
Conclusion
The two days donkey clinic was a success and the following was achieved;
• A total of families 65 families were reached through different services that were offered during the donkey clinic.
• A total of 212 donkeys were reached.
• A total of 190 donkeys were vaccinated
• A total of 212 donkeys were dewormed
• A total of 54 donkeys had their hooves trimmed by a Farrier
• A total of 10 new carts in Vulindlela & 8 in Jembwe ommunity were fitted with harnessing equipment that include humane padded harnesses, yoke and swingle trees
• 17 plates for number plates were welded into17 carts.
• A total 10 carts in Jembwe community were rechecked and replacements of some items were made.
MARES recommended that Greenline Africa second two people to undergo a week’s training on producing harnessing equipment. They will be going for training on 12-16 December at MARES in Bulawayo.
