05/22/2026
Most people have no idea that donkeys are still caught in the slaughter pipeline connected to the United States and Mexico.
While official USDA records often group horses, donkeys, and mules together as “equines,” tens of thousands of American equines are transported across the border into Mexico for slaughter every year. In 2024 alone, more than 17,000 U.S. equines were shipped to Mexico for slaughter, according to published USDA and animal welfare data. In previous years, the numbers exceeded 50,000–100,000 annually.
Donkeys are especially vulnerable worldwide.
Globally, an estimated 5–6 million donkeys are slaughtered every year, largely for their skins used in the ejiao trade. Demand for donkey skins has become so extreme that donkey populations in multiple countries have drastically declined.
That is one of the reasons Big Hoof Foundation rescues donkeys alongside Belgian draft horses.
In fact, our farm technically started because of a donkey named Jack.
Years ago, we found Jack on Craigslist. What started as helping one donkey in need became the foundation for everything we do today. Jack opened the door to a mission centered around compassion, second chances, and lifelong sanctuary for hardworking equines who deserved better.
Donkeys are often overlooked, underestimated, and discarded when they are no longer useful. But anyone who has spent time around them knows they are intelligent, deeply emotional, loyal animals who form powerful bonds with people and other animals.
Whether it’s a retired Belgian draft horse or a donkey like Jack, they all deserve safety, dignity, proper care, and a peaceful retirement home.
When you support Big Hoof Foundation, you help provide feed, farrier care, veterinary treatment, rehabilitation, shelter, and lifelong sanctuary for equines who have spent their lives working for humans.
Because every hardworking animal deserves the chance to finally rest.
www.bighooffoundation.org
Big Hoof Foundation
