Donkey sanctuary closure sees 23 animals rehomed

All animals from the site in Eccup had been moved to other locations, the Donkey Sanctuary charity said

A total of 23 donkeys have had to be rehomed from a sanctuary in Leeds following its closure.

The site in Eccup was one of four run by The Donkey Sanctuary charity across the country which have now closed their doors.

The charity, based in Sidmouth, Devon, blamed rising costs for the closures, which it said had also meant the loss of 12 jobs at the Leeds site.

A spokesperson for the charity said some of the affected donkeys were relocated to its Sidmouth HQ, while others had been moved to its farms for rescued donkeys.

The Donkey Sanctuary charity was founded in Devon in 1969 by Dr Elisabeth Svendsen to help abused or homeless animals.

Since then, it has cared for about 20,000 donkeys and established farms and sanctuaries around England and Northern Ireland.

'Core mission'

The charity first proposed the closure of its bases in Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester and Ivybridge in Devon in May.

A spokesperson from the charity told the BBC: "We have now completed the consultation process in which we gave careful consideration to the changes proposed in May.

"We can confirm that operational activities at the four centres, including Leeds, have ceased.

“These changes have taken place in order to make best use of our donors’ money and focus on our core mission to improve the lives of donkeys here in the UK and around the world."

The charity said that throughout the consultation process, "donkey welfare has been our utmost priority".

"Donkeys from Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester have now moved to their new homes," the spokesperson said.

"Some have relocated to our Sidmouth HQ, while others have gone to our farms in Devon and Derbyshire, and several have found homes through our guardian re-homing scheme.”

Meanwhile, the charity said its base in Belfast would reopen soon as a "small sanctuary and rehoming centre".

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