Animal Nepal Sponsored Animals Update

Animal Aid Abroad are proud to sponsor these rescued animals at Animal Nepal’s shelter:

BRUNA

Bruna is a 13-year-old female donkey. She is very sweet natured and can be shy around new people. Bruna was rescued in March, 2011, whilst pregnant and suffering from lameness. She had been abandoned by her owner, as Bruna refused to work. In June of the same year, Bruna gave birth to a male foal and Animal Nepal named him Victory. Sadly, Victory passed away soon after he was born, as he was quite a weak foal.

Bruna does not have any disabilities or health issues and has a good appetite. She especially loves cabbage and carrots, which she regularly get as treats. Bruna absolutely adores rolling on the ground, more so than the other donkeys, which is why you will often find her looking very dusty!

CHANDANI

Chandani was a beautiful female donkey who was born in Animal Nepal’s sanctuary in July, 2014, to Puffin. She was the youngest donkey, so her childish mischief was often tolerated with good humour by the older equines. Unlike most of the other residents, Chandani had never faced any hardship and was always far removed from the harsh realities of life most equines face in Nepal.

Sadly, Chandani passed away on the 10th of March, 2022, and it was very unexpected as she had not been displaying any outward signs of illness, had been eating well and had not given staff any cause for concern regarding her health.

Due to the unexpected nature of her passing, Animal Nepal carried out a post mortem. According to the post mortem report, Chandani died from suspected hepatic encephalopathy, which is a liver disease. Chandani was a very sweet natured donkey and she spent her whole life with Animal Nepal, so she will be dearly missed.

AAA helped to take care of Chandani during her entire short life.

FUDGE

Fudge came to live with Animal Nepal in 2015 after the earthquake and was best friends with Krishna, who passed away in April, 2021. Sadly, Animal Nepal also lost dear Fudge just last week. He was aged around 16-years-old.

After losing his lifelong friend, Krishna, Fudge had not been as active and was suffering from some problems with his teeth and joints. Whilst he did get along with the other donkeys, Krishna was his best friend and it was clear just how much he missed him. Fudge had lost most of his teeth this year, so the team were giving him soft feed because he couldn’t chew properly.

Both Fudge and Krishna were very friendly and loved to be around people. They served as Animal Nepal’s ambassadors at many events, always acting as the star attractions, and helped to raise awareness regarding the plight of working donkeys in Nepal.

AAA are glad both Fudge and Krishna could spend so many years in comfort at Animal Nepal’s sanctuary and feel privileged we could sponsor these gorgeous donkeys.

HONEY

Honey is a female horse born at the sanctuary in 2016. She was the result of an accidental pregnancy and her parents are Hella and Buddy, who have both since died. Buddy was an elderly, three-legged horse and Animal Nepal had wrongly assumed that he didn't need to be castrated due to his age and disability. They were very wrong and he in fact fathered 2 foals, Star and Honey, in the same year! Since then, the team ensure that all their male animals are castrated, unless they cannot be for medical conditions, in which case, they are kept separately from the females.

Honey is very friendly, active and healthy and loves to run around the sanctuary with her sister, Star. Honey really dislikes having her hooves trimmed and it can take up to 4 or 5 people to restrain her during grooming!

JACKIE 

Jackie is a male mule who was rescued from a brick kiln in 2019. Jackie has an old fracture on his right hind leg and he was being put to work carrying bricks despite his injury, which was causing him considerable pain and discomfort. Initially, the owner was not willing to give up Jackie, as they pay a lot of money for working animals, but after much persuasion, he agreed.

Since coming to Animal Nepal’s sanctuary, Jackie has really transformed! Although he was not accepted into the herd, Jackie is a very happy mule and he spends all his time with his beloved best friend, Paulie, a female horse.

Jackie's old fracture tends to give him some trouble every now and then as the lower part gets infected, especially during the rainy season. The sanctuary’s vets are able to manage any such flare ups and luckily it doesn't greatly affect Jackie's quality of life.

KUSH

Kush is a miniature donkey and he is about 20 years old. Kush and his brother, Lava, were rescued from Jyoti brick kiln in Lalitpur after they were abandoned by their owner. Both donkeys have also had their ears cut off, which used to be a common practice among equine owners, who believed that doing so would prevent the donkeys from catching Tetanus.

It took time for Lava and Kush to come out of their shells, but now they are very friendly with people, and they also like to play with the sanctuary’s rescued goats. Kush is the slightly more reserved of the two. Due to their very small size, visitors tend to mistake them for foals and love to play with them.

KUMARI (“KUMU”)

Animal Nepal came across Kumari in October, 2020, while they were driving back from their dog treatment centre. He was only a couple of months old at the time and had been run over by a truck, resulting in a complete fracture of his right front leg. Having witnessed the accident and with no proper provision for the rescue and treatment of such animals, the team rescued him and provided him with the necessary treatment. As Kumari was quite small at the time, he stayed with staff members in their office, where they nursed him back to health. Miraculously, after six months in plaster, he made a full recovery and now he is a very happy and healthy young bull, whose nature is just like one of the office dogs.

Once Kumari outgrew the office, staff made the decision to transfer him to the sanctuary where he will have plenty of space to graze and run around. The team put in a sponsorship request for Kumu to AAA in April this year, and were very happy to learn that their request was approved.

Bulls have been used as working animals in Nepal for centuries, mostly used for ploughing fields and pulling carts. With increasing urbanisation, many people are turning away from farming, which has led to a decrease in the use of bulls as draft animals. Furthermore, over the last few years, there has been a huge rise in Nepal's dairy production and male calves have inadvertently become the unfortunate victims of this fast growing industry.

Nepal's constitution forbids the killing of cows and bulls, meaning most of the male calves born into the dairy industry are discarded on the roads very soon after birth, thus making stray cattle a common sight in many parts of the country. With an absence of any proper intervention from the Government of Nepal, these animals suffer terribly on the roads and are at risk of road traffic accidents, poisoning, sickness, hunger and abuse. Even though cows and bulls hold a special status in both Nepal's constitution and the religious sphere, it is fair to say that they are the most exploited and least protected animals in Nepal. While Animal Nepal continues to advocate for the rights and welfare of these long suffering animals, Kumu is just one representative case, where they have made a direct intervention.

LAVA

Lava is a miniature donkey, and he is about 20 years old. Lava and his brother, Kush, were rescued from Jyoti brick kiln in Lalitpur after they were abandoned by their owner. Both donkeys have also had their ears cut off, which used to be a common practice among equine owners, who believed that doing so would prevent the donkeys from catching Tetanus.

It took time for Lava and Kush to come out of their shells, but now they are very friendly with people, and they also like to play with the sanctuary’s rescued goats. Lava is the friendlier of the two and, due to their very small size, visitors tend to mistake them for foals and love to play with them.

MARKHU

Markhu is a male horse, and he is about 15 years old. At the time of rescue, he had overgrown hooves and was suffering from a severe lameness. However, since coming to Animal Nepal’s sanctuary, he has made a full transformation and is now one of their most active animals.

Markhu loves running around and tends to nibble at other animals and people when he is excited. Markhu has a beautiful mane, which tends to grow very quickly, so he needs regular haircuts.

MOKSH

Moksh, an 11-year-old male mule, was rescued by Animal Nepal in 2014. He was 3 years old at the time and had been severely injured following a fight with another mule at a brick kiln in Bhaktapur. He had injuries to his leg and multiple wounds on his body. It took several months for Moksh to regain full function of his legs and, as he couldn't work at the time, his owner gave Moksh up to Animal Nepal.

You won't believe this but, at the time of rescue, Moksh had a red tinted coat, which eventually became black and now it's turning white!

Moksh has a reputation for being very mischievous and it's always a challenge to vaccinate and groom him. Moksh can also be very wary of new animals coming into the sanctuary, as he wants to remain the alpha in his herd.

NOBBY

Nobby is a 12-year-old male horse and he is part of the group of equines who came from Pauline. Nobby is very handsome and he is fussy about who he chooses to be friends with. Nobby enjoys being groomed but he doesn’t like his face being touched. Nobby does not have any health issues and he likes to spend his time with Stella, Shakti and Moksh.

PAPPU

Pappu, a female mule, was rescued in 2015 from Bolbom brick kiln. She is named after her owner, Pappu Kasgar, who no longer wanted to keep her due to her fetlock injury. Despite her leg problem, Pappu enjoys a very healthy and active life and is one of the sanctuary’s friendliest mules.

PAULIE

Paulie is a one-eyed female horse who was abandoned by her owner in Bhaktapur. She was rescued by Animal Nepal in 2019. After being abandoned by her owner, she had been fending for herself without any proper food or shelter. At the time of rescue, Paulie was suffering from alopecia, lameness and had a few minor wounds on her body. After coming to the sanctuary, Paulie made a full recovery and is now very healthy.

Perhaps, it is due to her missing eye, but Paulie is quite a nervous horse and isn't very friendly with people or other animals. She only likes her best friend, Jackie, and they spend all their time together. In the beginning, she did spend some time with the herd, but due to her nervous nature, staff decided to keep Paulie and Jackie separate from the herd, which appears to suit them very well.

PRAWIN

Prawin is an adolescent stray bull who was found wandering around in Animal Nepal’s neighborhood. Usually, male calves are taken away from their mothers on dairy farms and left on roads in the middle of the night, when no one is around. 

Prawin would have spent his days scavenging for food in rubbish bins. Sadly, many stray cattle in Nepal suffer poisoning from eating toxic substances and choke on plastics. As they get older and bigger, they are seen as a nuisance by people and are at times abused by people who are trying to shoo them away.

Since coming into the sanctuary, Prawin has transformed into a happy and healthy young bull. He gets along very well with Kumu, who is so very gentle and patient with Prawin. Surprisingly, Prawin loves to spend his time playing with one of the mules, Jackie. The team were not expecting this unusual friendship to develop, but it's a joy to see!

SAMIR

Samir is a female donkey who is about 22 years old. She was rescued in July, 2012, and at the time she was suffering from a severe skin disease and malnutrition. Samir appeared to have been abandoned by her owner as she was no longer in a fit state to work.

Samir is one of Animal Nepal’s happiest and friendliest donkeys and responds very well to her name. She is always the first one to greet staff and visitors. Samir has a habit of chewing on clothes, bags and shoes, so the team always need to be extra careful when playing with her.

Due to her friendly nature, Samir is also happy to volunteer her services for Animal Nepal’s internship training program, where staff train final year veterinary students on equine management, handling and welfare. In 2021, Animal Nepal were not able to hold regular classes due to the pandemic. Classes have, however, fully resumed in 2022.

SANGEET

Sangeet is a male donkey rescued from Santaneshwor brick kiln in Lalitpur. He is about 13 years old. At the time of rescue, he was suffering from malnutrition and in a very weak condition. He made a full recovery and, since then, he has not faced any health issues.

Sangeet is very mild mannered and gets along well with other donkeys and is very fond of the para vet, Tara. Sangeet has a very healthy appetite and especially enjoys munching on cabbage.

SHAKTI

Shakti, along with her mum, Mukti, were rescued in September, 2010, from Trishakti brick kiln in Harisiddhi. Animal Nepal first came across Shakti's mum, Mukti, in March, 2010. At the time, she was pregnant with Shakti, blind, malnourished and still being made to work. Despite much effort, the owner refused to hand over Mukti as she was pregnant and he wanted to keep the foal. When the team went back in September, 2010, they saw that Shakti had been born but both mother and foal were in a terrible state. The owner finally agreed to hand them over to Animal Nepal.

Shakti, along with donkeys BB and Naina, also spent few years with a French lady called Pauline at her beautiful home, but all three came back to the sanctuary after the 2015 earthquake.

Mukti has since passed away, but Shakti has spent most of her life at the sanctuary and she is now 13 years old. Shakti has a beautiful temperament and is one of the friendliest horses. She also has a lovely mane and Animal Nepal’s caretakers really enjoy trimming her fringe.

STAR

Star is a female horse who was born in 2016 at the sanctuary. She was the result of an accidental pregnancy and her parents are Shakti and Buddy (now passed away).

Star is very friendly, active and healthy and likes to be around her mother and her friend, Honey. Star doesn’t like being groomed or having her hooves trimmed. Star is also very photogenic, and is the cover girl of Animal Nepal’s 2021 Annual Report!

STELLA

Stella is a gentle, 18-year-old mule who was rescued in spring, 2014. This female equine was hauling bricks in the hot sun whilst suffering from respiratory problems and countless wounds. Stella has found a well-deserved retirement home at Animal Nepal’s sanctuary.

In 2017, Stella’s damaged eye started to give her trouble. The team noticed that flies caused regular discharge and irritation to her eye socket. The team therefore decided to close the socket surgically. The surgery was conducted by Dr Atish, Dr Sajana and the sanctuary team, with the support of international volunteer, Dr David Thomson. The surgery was successful and Stella now lives a healthy and active life.

This year, Stella had an infection in her eye socket, which has now fully healed following treatment from the sanctuary’s vets.

TARA

Tara, a male mule, was rescued from Nuwakot district in November, 2020. He had been abandoned by his owner after he could no longer work, following the fracture of his front right leg.

After spending 21 days in quarantine, Tara received a clean bill of health and moved into the sanctuary. Initially, he had a few clashes with Moksh, but now Tara has been accepted into the herd. Despite his leg injury, Tara is very active and loves dust bathing.

This year, Tara and Moksh got into a couple of minor scrapes but thankfully neither were injured. After a period of separation, they were reintroduced back into the herd and they are now tolerating one another.