Glow-in-the-dark donkeys a welcome sight for New Forest drivers (From Smallholder)

Glow-in-the-dark donkeys a welcome sight for New Forest drivers

10:30am Saturday 26th November 2011 in Equine

Fluorescent yellow collars are being offered to donkey owners in the New Forest by international animal welfare charity The Donkey Sanctuary to help make their animals more visible to drivers over the dark winter months.

Donkeys and other free-roaming equine animals are involved in road traffic accidents in the area each year, and New Forest National Park figures show that 65 animals were killed and 27 injured on New Forest roads in 2010 alone. The Donkey Sanctuary hopes that the introduction of new fluorescent yellow collars for donkeys will lessen the likelihood of this recurring in the future. The Donkey Sanctuary estimates that there are around 60-70 of the area’s registered 128 free-roaming donkeys out in the New Forest at any one time. The charity has invested almost £500 to provide each of them with reflective collars to make sure they can be seen. The collars, which will be offered to donkey owners free of charge, have a light-reflecting yellow strip around them to alert drivers to the presence of the animal.

Jill Bulkley, Area Welfare Officer for The Donkey Sanctuary, explains how the donkey collar scheme will work: “The New Forest is unique in that it is one of the few places that drivers can encounter animals that are free-roaming but also owned. The Donkey Sanctuary is offering free fluorescent yellow collars to donkey owners to help increase the likelihood of their animals being seen, and hopefully reduce the chance of them becoming killed or injured on the roads. The collars, which have been produced locally in the New Forest, have a fluorescent strip around the centre, and are designed to break in the event of them becoming caught to prevent potential injury to the donkey should they become entangled. We hope that they will improve road safety in the New Forest for both donkeys and drivers.”

Donkey owners who would like to know more about the collars are invited to contact Jill Bulkley, The Donkey Sanctuary’s Area Welfare Officer for the New Forest, on 01590 624115.

Look out for the Christmas issue of Smallholder, on sale now, which features a laughing donkey on the cover!