Abused donkey given therapeutic trousers

Keepers at the Ramat Gan Safari Park in Israel, have come up with a creative way to help an abused donkey heal from his wounds. Before Haim the donkey arrived at the park, he was regularly tied up with barbed wire behind his owners’ home, where local children would abuse the helpless animal.



Haim was eventually taken to the safari in Ramat Gan, the largest animal sanctuary in the Middle East and home to 1,600 animals of different species. Haim began a long rehabilitation process, gradually learning to trust his caretakers and even overcoming his fear of children. His physical wounds, however, took longer to heal. His lower legs, where he was bound, had the fur rubbed off, and flies would bite his raw skin.

The flies caused Haim to bite and scratch his legs, leaving sores and cuts that in turn attracted more flies. The donkey was caught in a painful cycle. Staff at the safari first fashioned him a pair of socks to cover his wounds, held in place with medical tape. Unfortunately, the daily switching of the socks and replacement of the tape aggravated Haim’s wounds, and he tried scratching off the tape. Two keepers, Becca Rivkin and Shira Inbar-Danin, came up with a solution.


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They spent four hours stitching a special pair of trousers for the donkey that are held up by suspenders over his shoulders. They are double-layered, with a soft stretchy material on the inside, covered by a rougher baggy material that flies can’t bite through. The two women also rub cream on his legs every day. The special trousers are working a treat, and Haim will soon receive another pair of trousers for his hind legs as well. With his skin protected, his fur is expected to grow back quickly, and then Haim the donkey will be able to trot around bare-ass once again.