Is now with our Stud Book Registrar and can be purchased either from her for £6.00 inc P/P, or from the book section of the online DBS shop.

Donkeys are protected under the 'Animal Welfare Act 2006' and owners are required to meet 5 basic needs by law.

• The need for a proper diet, including fresh water.
• The need for suitable housing and protection from the elements at all times.
• The need to be housed with, or apart from other animals as appropriate.
• The need to express normal behaviour.
• The need to be protected from, and treated for illness and injuries.

It sounds simple enough, but unbelievably in the United Kingdom where donkeys are our pleasure rather than our living, there are still those kept without access to shelter and protection from the weather, and even left to die unpleasant and lingering deaths, where the owner elects not to seek veterinary assistance.

We have a duty of care to our companion animals, let us face up to it.

Passport Application Forms, Ownership Transfer and Instruction documents have been updated

To download these documents, please select "Legal Documents" from the left-side menu

Then the Donkey Breed Society is your new passport adminstrator, having been appointed by DEFRA to administer the R J Steel passports.

If you wish to record a change of ownership you can insert your name and address on the page within the passport for recording ownership, then you will need to send the passport, a cheque for £15 made payable to the Donkey Breed Society, and details of your name, address and date of purchase on a separate sheet of paper please, to: Passport Administration, Bryncelyn, Llanfyllin, Powys. SY22 5NE.

The passport will have a replacement cover applied and your ownership will be recorded for the National Equine Database, after which the document will be posted back to you. It usually takes about 48 hours Post Office willing !!

If you require any further information email: info@donkeybreedsociety.co.uk

The emerging diseases that have reached epidemic proportions in some Eastern Euroopean Countries are a worrying prospect for all of us, but would you know what they are or recognise any of the signs?

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/vetsurveillance/species/horses/index.htm