Veterinary clinic provides safe haven for West Bank donkeys

NABLUS, West Bank (Reuters) – A British-funded veterinary clinic is caring for hundreds of working and abandoned donkeys in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The Safe Haven for Donkeys provides free hoof care and dental treatment to donkeys, mules and horses in the central West Bank city of Nablus, as well as via a mobile clinic that visits villages across the mountainous territory.

Shepherds and farmers in the Palestinian territories and neighboring Israel, where the group also has a clinic, often use donkeys to guard sheep, pull produce-filled carts and transport supplies on their backs.

The shelter’s services prevent common injuries and “go a long way in improving the lives of the animals who work so hard for so little”, the group’s website says.

(Reporting by Raneen Sawafta, Writing by Rami Ayyub)