Wild donkeys on a farm

Unemployed donkey. A donkey can carry almost a third of its weight without complaining.
I’ve been following a conversation thread on the FAO Caribbean listserve. It’s about donkeys of course and I may have contributed in small measure to the start of the topic. This post gives an answer to a question asked by a contributor whether or not it is a safe to enlist wild donkeys on a farm to do ‘donkey work’. It also makes it possible for others who do not access FAO to read whats happening around them.

So, Can a wild jackass be put to use in local agriculture? The answer cannot be given in one word. I’d say ‘yes’, but then I’d have said it with a ton of horse and ass experience behind me. The real answer is that there are no truly wild asses in the Caribbean. In Montserrat, an island whose  asses I have in my sights for bringing to Trinidad and Tobago, I am sure there have been close interactions between Homo sapiens and Equus Asinus over time.

Montserrat is a small island,  now made smaller for the inhabitants by the recent (geologically speaking) explosions of  the Soufriere Hills volcano in 1995. Food has been a challenge for everyone, but the versatile donkey there has prospered to the point it is competing effectively for food humans need. Imagine the ease of keeping it in a verdant Trinidad and Tobago.

The question of wild/tame has to be in respect of the Montserrat beasts ability to work as a draught animal on the estates of  hilly Tobago, or in the inaccessible forested lands of South Trinidad. Consider that any animal has to be trained to saddling, whether or not it was born in captivity or raised in a domestic situation. The training is the same. The initial reaction the same. Also food conditioning is a great tool in any training situation dealing with animals, and it will help here too.

Wild donkeys in Montserrat
Consider also the bulk of the first shipment may be placed as breeding stock unless families who accept them are certified as proper homes and are qualified to propagate the animal. If the first lot is for breeding, then the offspring can be soft-trained – in one alternative of the Plan.

If not coming in as brood stock, the argument for bringing donkeys in still holds, as a mature beast is much better suited for hauling panniers, as its bone and brain has already been developed. (Most people place loads on young horses and donkeys while they are still infants.) In fact a ‘wild donkey’  like those from Montserrat may prove easier to work with than a domesticated one who has been ill-treated and now has defences (bad habits) in place.

There may be financial assistance from donkey sanctuary groups in the developed countries, or we can initiate our own non-profit for this. I’d prefer the latter approach. Think of it as one man’s idea of building a developed country ethos. Mannings’ got  his idea for 2020, I got mine.