The sanctuary for abused donkeys neighboring the pyramids of Teotihuacán

Hooves arrived convalescing and with scars on his ribs due to the bites that his former owner gave him.

It didn't stand up, it didn't work anymore, so it was left behind in rubble and trash.

Snowflake, in an effort to chase a mule, let go of the tree to which he was tied to sneak off to the neighboring property.

As punishment, his two front legs were tied to a post so that he was completely immobilized.

Helpless against the attacks of some dogs, they hurt him so much that his owners did not bother to tend to his wounds.

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The mistreatment that both animals suffered for years stopped when they arrived at Burrolandia, a refuge for donkeys in Otumba, a municipality in the State of Mexico.

After being treated and rehabilitated, Hooves and Snowflake are today part of the crew of a refuge that the public can access and visit in their facilities: large open-air grounds and clean stables full of alfalfa bales.

In this ranch of more than 2.5 hectares where the brays echo, each specimen is unique and has a name that corresponds to a personality.

"He is not just another donkey to discard after having worked and suffered all his life," says Germán Flores, who has run this equine paradise since 2006.

Burrolandia, just 10 kilometers from the famous pyramids of Teotihuacán, was born in order to rescue them from abuse and is currently one of the few sanctuaries that exist for this species in the country.

"It is not by chance that the refuge is here, because Otumba is considered the cradle of the donkey in Mexico," says Flores proudly.

During the 16th century, the municipality became a resting place for the transport of goods that crossed the most important crossing from Mexico to Veracruz, one of the oldest roads in New Spain.

The muleteers stopped to rest and feed their beasts of burden, which led to the establishment of a regional market for these animals.

Over time, the donkey became part of the heritage and collective identity of this region where, since 1964, the annual donkey fair has been held, a festival to which this town is delivered every May 1.

If in 1991 there were 1.5 million donkeys, today there are less than 300,000.

Almost 80% of the population has disappeared in less than 30 years

“Although the fair is a source of pride for those of us from here, we opened this farm because we realized that there was less and less in the region,” explains Flores.

According to the Otumban, “the Mexican donkey is in extinction.

If in 1991 there were 1.5 million copies, today there are less than 300,000.

Almost 80% of the population has disappeared in less than 30 years ”.

The sustainable function that donkeys provided to humans for centuries has been diminishing in the latter due to the modernization of agriculture and means of transport.

“They have been displaced as a tool in many sectors.

Even a bicycle serves some of the uses they had!

So they dispose of them in the slaughterhouses, ”says the director of Burrolandia as he throws a carrot at Hooves, who was thrown dying into a garbage dump.

The last census carried out by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), published in 2010, was in 2007 and dated half a million donkeys.

The previous study, carried out in 1991, indicated that one and a half million lived in Mexico, two-thirds more than now.

They are the latest statistics available on the demographics of this animal in the country.

“It is undeniable that its population has decreased, but we must interpret this census well, since it is prepared by reporting the animals found in rural work units.

And there is more and more the tendency to have donkeys that are not for work! ”, Clarifies Mariano Hernández Gil, specialist of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

Unlike Flores, the vet does not consider the donkey in danger of disappearing.

“In communities where there were 500 before, only a few remain, it is true.

But now there are conservation areas for the species, and they still serve elementary functions in many places.

In semi-arid regions of our country, there are areas where they can only plant corn on foot or by donkey ”, explains the equine expert.

In 2020, the donkey is still assumed as a pack and draft animal, and represents a livelihood for many people in the rural world.

Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla, the State of Mexico, Veracruz and Hidalgo are the territories that concentrate the largest number of them.

In these States, basic foods such as beans and squash are used for agricultural work.

In Veracruz they participate in the papaya and mango harvest;

in Oaxaca they accompany in the extraction of honey;

and they are responsible for pulling the wheel that crushes the maguey pineapples to obtain the liquor in the production of artisanal mezcal.

In low-income municipalities that border the capital with the State of Mexico, such as Coacalco and Tultitlán, the figure of the burrero remains, roads pulled by animals that collect garbage and that can accumulate more than 100 tons of waste in one day .

The controversy associated with the activities for which this animal is still used focuses on the abuse that is frequently inflicted on them: overexploitation, severe malnutrition, exhaustion, broken bones, raw skin.

The stories of abuse are told through the copies that arrive at Burrolandia.

"The problem is not that they are used as work, but the degrading treatment they receive," explains Flores.

“The donkeys that have been born here are physically and mentally healthy.

The ones we rescued, no.

They do not arrive emotionally well, they want to bite and kick.

How is an animal going to react that has spent 23 of its 25 years being brutally beaten? ”Asks the director of the farm.

Just a few weeks ago, a deputy from Morena's party presented an initiative to reform the Code for Biodiversity of the State of Mexico and prohibit the use of animals as a means of transportation and their transit through asphalt roads that are not made for that purpose.

The objective of this initiative is to protect donkeys, mules and horses, from the abuse and mistreatment that they are used to in this state of the Mexican Republic.

In the veterinarian's opinion, the use of animals as a work tool should not be prohibited, but rather promote legislation that provides for and requires animal welfare with objective methods.

“There are scientific references that make well-being measurable, but they are not used.

We must ensure and guarantee the welfare of the animal in the conditions in which they work, but not deprive people of the possibility of using them in their tasks.

There are very poor isolated communities where women, children and the elderly are completely dependent on donkeys for their water supply, firewood and fodder.

Tell an elderly woman who walks 15 kilometers a day to store 80 liters of water for the whole week that she can no longer carry her donkey! ”, Defends Hernández, who coordinates the FMVZ Donkey Sanctuary-UNAM Program.

This project, which promotes well-being in communities that depend on equines, began in 1984 and since then has cared for an average of 30,000 animals per year in more than 500 communities.

The controversy associated with the activities for which this animal is still used focuses on the abuse that is frequently inflicted on them: overexploitation, severe malnutrition, exhaustion, broken bones, raw skin

“You also have to consider the strong bond that these animals create with people and other animals, such as sheep and dogs.

Donkeys are tremendously loyal.

He's a life partner! ”Exclaims Hernández, who has been working with them for more than two decades.

Intelligent, noble, with a good memory… This is how this animal is described: “Tender and cuddly just like a boy, like a girl;

but strong and dry as stone ”, it is also said of the most iconic donkey in literature.

“The donkey is a fantastic animal.

And the best thing about living with them is seeing how their behaviors change, losing their fears and traumas, how they bring out their own personality, "says Flores while caressing the back of Valentín, one of the audience's favorites.

"As soon as he sees people in the distance, he jogs over to say hello."

Burrolandia had to close its stables to visitors due to the pandemic, but has reopened its facilities this October.

Of the 50 specimens that inhabit its lands, most were rescued, others were born here and the rest were abandoned.

"Their owners told us they were going on vacation and that they were leaving us for a month, but they never returned or contacted us," says the head of this sanctuary, who does not receive aid from any private institution or the Government, and it is supported by donations from visitors.

“We would like to rescue everyone who needs it, but it is not in our power.

Less with the arrival of the pandemic! ”, He adds.

Of the 18 best-known breeds of this animal, three coexist here.

Yamak, one of the most trusting of the ranch, is a mammoth donkey, originally from the United States and one of the largest in the world.

Florencio, dark brown with a white muzzle and belly, and also large, is a descendant of the Catalan Pyrenees, one of the oldest known breeds.

And Pistache, miniature size and very tender in appearance, is Sicilian.

The rest are common Mexican burritos, dark gray in color with black stripes that are drawn from neck to tail and legs.

“Let's not forget that the Mexican is not a race.

And that is why it cannot be extinguished! ”, Clarifies Hernández.

The Mexican donkey is the same one that lives in Ethiopia, Egypt, Ecuador, Colombia and so many other countries.

"If this animal really disappears in Mexico, which is not going to happen, you just have to bring one from Honduras," says the vet with irony.

The closest thing to a Mexican donkey that existed was the American Onagro,

, the smallest of the Pleistocene equines.

It inhabited North America and became extinct 8,000 years ago.

Only a few fossils remain of him that concluded his existence.

“But the Spanish brought it, who in turn imported it from Africa.

And thanks to this animal, human energy was replaced by animal energy ”, concludes the expert.

He came to Mexico to fill the function of the tamemes, settlers who were used as transporters.

One of the many cruelties exercised against the native peoples during the Conquest.

José Vasconcelos told it in his work

: “The African donkey, the Spanish donkey, came to these lands to offer their patient back to the relief of the Indian tamemes”.

Six centuries later, the township where one of the bloodiest and most epic battles in New World history was fought comes to your rescue.

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