A film by Hendrik Wuyts Bonaire photo and film
Talking points:
– A Cultural Heritage: Dr. Dallen Timothy: “protecting the donkey population is in alignment with the goals of UNESCO in its efforts to protect natural and human heritage”.
– Bonaire government never produced a scientific document on our donkey population.
– Donkeys possess post gastric digestive system different than ruminants [goats]; food not as broken down;feed, or nourish, the ecosystem, starting with critically important soils whose micro-organisms, insects, etc., derive more sustenance from donkey feces, precisely because they are not as degraded; re-seeders.
– Donkey feces as contributor to more humus soil making the soil more water- retentive, thus elevating water tables; humus rich soils.
– Connection to the Critically Endangered Nubian Ass.
– Donkeys fitting into the ecosystem as it has developed during the approx. 500 years
– There are no official numbers of car accidents available.
Facts and statistical studies will help to identify ‘problem zones’ to make roads safer for humans and animals alike
– A professional recommendation to the Island Council is needed to cancel the announced eradication plan and in-stead call for an in-depth study for field observations and genetic analysis
– Studies done by objective biologists who come without a negative predisposition as concerns the donkey or relation to life in community.
– Solutions to deal with current situations: immediately repair the wells and reservoirs to encourage donkeys in the wild areas, semi-permeable barriers excluding donkeys from certain areas; Streiter-lite Light Reflectors prevent donkeys, humans, other species from being hit by cars; other Island Specific Reserve Design to include rather than exclude them.
The elimination contract for the donkeys needs to be cancelled – even after the end date of the contract, the stallions that are found in the wild are to be immediately castrated and the mares and foals that are found are to be caught immediately and taken captive. This is eradication.
For questions and information:
scubagirlsince85@gmail.com
donkeys.can.do@gmail.com
Wild Horse Freedom Federation firmly endorses and supports this operation as WHFF’s Director of Wild Burro Affairs, Marjorie Farabee, works towards a resolution on Bonaire
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Categories: Equine Rescue, Horse News, Wild Burros
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Reblogged this on Pass the SAFE Act!.
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These donkeys are naturalized to this environment. Yet, after 500 years of being a part of Bonaire, the Dutch environmentalists assigned to this island have deemed them unworthy of existance. Without a single study these “scientist” propose to remove the donkeys without consideration for the positive contribution to soil and water thought to be important. These “scientist” have also given no value to the donkeys cultural importance to the people who share the history of the donkeys being eradicated from Bonaire.
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Amazes me – both the donkeys & the horses do so much for the environment and these morons (there & here) just want to get rid of them. Says a lot for the so-called decision makers, doesn’t it?
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Last week was International Donkey Week-let’s honor these donkeys by keeping up the advocacy necessary to combat the fraudulent studies that are leading to their misguided decimation.
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As Rona Aguilar said on the radio show last night….NONE of the other international organizations were even willing to listen to their pleas for help.
She and the people of Bonaire are so very grateful for having found a group of people who have the necessary scientific expertise and who truly have the Donkeys’ best interests at heart.
Rona, having lived in Bonaire, understands the people, their culture AND their love for their Donkeys. They have, apparently, been intimidated for a very long time and have been reluctant to speak up.
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This is true, Louie. At a town hall meeting that we held at the Black Durgeon Inn people came to us and told us how their personal family donkeys were taken from them under the threat that if they did not give them up, they would be fined $500.00. The lying has gone on for years, with the ultimate outcome being that the lies have become the truth in the Netherlands. I tried to meet with the Animal Party and the IFAW and neither would meet with me. They referred to reports of abuse made by The Donkey Sanctuary Bonaire Safari Park about abuse and refused to even hear the people’s side. The people of Bonaire let this go on too long. It is going to be hard to get the dialogue back. But, we can do it. I do look forward to public debate. We submitted questions to Frank Von Slobbe the supposed environmental scientist and he has yet to answer any of the questions. He can’t. Not as a scientist. Not, and be truthful, so silence…… crickets.
Marjorie
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Much easier it seems at the time for the crusty old and morally lazy establishment just to come up with another target for elimination rather than to take the virtuous high road of Responsibility and learn how we can live with these endangered wild donkeys, who in fact contribute so much that is truly positive to life when given the chance and not negatively prejudged! Thanks for helping getting the Greater Truth and Justice on this subject out, Marjorie, Rhona, RT, and all the rest of the Team. We shall win for the donkeys sake. They deserve our steadfast commitment.
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There is no empirical evidence that supports the idea that an introduced species cause harm to the environment. The best refutation of this argument I have found is the 2005 article by Mark Sagoff, a Harvard PhD, in the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics on whether there is any science behind the native or non-native species construct. This is actually a concept that defies the action of anmals in nature that regularly crossed land bridges between continents carrying all sorts of plant spores, seeds, pollen, insect eggs, larvae and parasites with them to repopulate their new ecosystems with characters present in their previous ecosystem. The whole idea that animals and plants can exist in only one place defies the plan nature put into place for species to survive while climate change purged and cleansed the Earth in one area. When the climate extreme in one area ended, the mammals could return to their original habitat as the North American horse did repeatedly for 55 million years or the species could return to its home climate.
The science is false; therefore, any steps put into place to support the alien species premise must not be applied because there is no empirical evidence of harm, no evidence that the originators or this theory gave a flying who-ha about the original of the species they claimed were non-native, or whether or not there can ever be any certainty where any species originated. In this case, according to Al Gore’s mythology, we need to eradicate all plants and animals everywhere because we can never be certain of any of their origina.
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