
Everything was fine until the first cars hit the roads; in the 1950’s the number of cars had increased a lot and donkeys became redundant. They were released in Aruba’s countryside and that was not always a good idea: the Aruban donkey became almost extinct; this was due to measures of the government as well as to car accidents.

The first 10 roaming donkeys were picked up at Pos Chiquito and slowly but surely the number of donkeys that were caught, grew. At first it was mostly sick and injured donkeys, but later it was also healthy donkeys that were taken to Santa Lucia. Traffic on the island was ever-increasing and it became too dangerous for the animals to roam freely.
In 1998 volunteer Desiree Eldering started at the sanctuary, which was normally closed to the public. In 2004 things changed and visitors were allowed entry; at first only in the mornings, but from 2010 in the afternoons as well. Nowadays we annually receive some 30,000 visitors. From, 2006 on, board members and volunteers started getting their new venue at Bringamosa ready for donkey occupation, because Santa Lucia became too crowded. In 2016 the donkeys moved at last! At this point there are 127 donkeys with us – 6 of those live at Desiree’s. They are the problem `children’ who need some extra care and attention. Sometimes they don’t get along with humans or other donkeys.

At Bringamosa there are now a few apartments with 4 beds for volunteers. Besides local volunteers (around 30), the sanctuary receives volunteers from all over the world, working for several organizations. These mostly stay for 2 to 12 months and they help out on a daily basis. It is wonderful to be able to house them at the sanctuary.

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