Donkey charity receives more donations than four leading domestic abuse charities combined

[IwantToRetire]

A donkey welfare charity received more donations in a single year than four leading domestic abuse charities combined, new figures show.

Data from the Charity Commission register reveals that four domestic abuse charities – Women’s Aid, Refuge, IDAS and SafeLives – together raised far less money through donations than The Donkey Sanctuary.

The four domestic abuse charities received a total of £11.3m during the 2022-2023 financial year, while The Donkey Sanctuary was the recipient of £51.7m in 2022.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/domestic-abuse-donkey-charity-funding-b2607499.html

I can remember there was a news story about this situation, maybe as much as 10 years ago. I wonder if the difference is getting bigger.

No - the poster said They travel all over the place and buy donkeys who are destined to become salami

Unlikely, unless specially imported.

But as is clear from the thread, this charity works internationally, so a UK-only perspective will not capture anything close to the range of its activities

Thank god we do. The brutal and inhumane treatment of animals in many other countries is barbaric.

Horses and donkeys in the UK are shipped abroad for meat.

This has actually made me want to donate to a DV charity. I'll need to research them though to make sure the money is used appropriately and actually for the people impacted and not charity bosses etc.

People are free to give to any charities they like. In any case there is a benefits system for people fleeing domestic abuse.

Clearly ignorance around factors as to why women might be unable to leave violent partners or family members at the first sign of danger is a factor. There is an almost wilful ignorance to understand the nature of coercive control, social conditioning and shaming, generational cycles of abuse, lack of refuge spaces and safe appropriate emergency accommodation at the point of emergency need, plus the very legitimate concern that the highest risk in a violent relationship is at the time of leaving.

In relation to corporate funders, the companies have understandably made the decision that non-controversial support such as helping cute lovely animals is a much lower risk to their brand than getting drawn into the currently toxic women's rights arena, which risks dragging their brand into public debate on single sex spaces and services.

It is also the case that abuse towards women and abuse towards animals are not mutually exclusive. Men who are cruel to animals is a well accepted indicator of risk in domestic violence relationships. In each case we are seen as property not worthy of respect.

But that doesn’t mean that the cause isn’t the most popular or that it overall receives most money - it just means it’s a very fragmented sector so there are thousands of small charities. It’s still the most patronised sector- ie more donors give to animal charities than to any other cause.

Same - how many donkey can possibly need sanctuary, that they need £51m? How many donkeys even are there in the UK these days?

Actually animal welfare doesn’t get much support from the corporate sector at all. The key sectors for corporates are education, heath and livelihoods, and increasingly climate and the environment.

Animal welfare is largely a “retail” donor base- ie individuals.

I don't think people should be trying to shame others into saying you shouldn't donate to animal charities or some causes are more worthy than others if you're donating to a reputable charity whatever it is, if it's for a good cause you're doing a good thing.

But why donkeys and not cute little lambs, or lovely little chickens? What is the utility of spending £51m per year to encourage people to eat some types of meat (cows, lambs) rather than others (donkeys)?

Good for her.

They are a worldwide charity. Donkeys are often 'worked to death' overseas. There is still abuse going on in this country - I won't link distressing content but google brings up stories of physical and even sexual abuse in the UK.

I think it would be better to try to get more people to donate to any charity / cause rather than complaining that people give more to donkeys than dv charities.
I was a victim of DA ( husband jailed twice, child on CPR) and on the whole the charities were pretty useless my dog on the other hand gave me emotional support and was always there for me. So for the past 20 years I have donated to a dog charity and haven't even considered giving to a DA one.

I've never heard of Refuge, IDAS, of SafeLives. I've heard of Women's Aid through MN. But I've known about the donkey sanctuary for decades thanks to TV ads. I would bet good money THAT is the reason for the difference in donations.

I care very much about abused women, about people trying to flee war zones, about FGM, and a hundred other causes. But I'm not rich and I've had to choose just two charities to take monthly direct debits, and neither of them are DV charities. It doesn't reflect my lack of compassion towards abused women.

It's made me want to increase my DD for the donkeys :(

I don't think we should pit charities or peoples' goodwill against each other tbh. Don't need to detract from one to serve the other.

Well I guess it's not really a thing to sponsor a DV survivor or go on visits to a women's refuge with the DC.

I guess where people donate is a lot to do with visibility, marketing stuff like that more than the actual causes sadly.

Save China's Tigers got more donations than Scope, The Princes Trust, Blind Veterans UK and Action for Children.

Baffling 🤷🏽‍♀️

because donkeys are linked strongly to Christian faith and it’s not in our culture to eat them.

Humans aren't going to become extinct. Tigers, however...

Perhaps some of the women’s aid , women’s refuge places could make links with the Donkey sanctuary . I can personally vouch for how good horses and donkeys are for your mental health in the sense of being fantastic animals to tell your woes to . I’m pretty sure my horse saved me from a nervous collapse when my dad died very suddenly. The Donkey Sanctuary does excellent work abroad as well as in this country . Most of my charity donations go to animal charities , it doesn’t mean I care more about animals than people but animals can’t help themselves get out of a situation without us .

Those donkey sanctuary ads are on every ad break of small tv channels who don't get many big brands to fill the 3 minutes of sponsor time. It would be nice if rape shelters had the resources to make ads depicting beaten women; it's been done in children's charity ads , usually sat cowering while an adult is shouting in the background but it's hard to imagine the equivalent. I guess a government sponsored campaign would at least raise more awareness

I stopped donating to Women's Aid and most other 'women's' charities when it became clear that my money was helping to prop up organisations that were supporting the idea that men can be women. I had a good friend, a lesbian, who'd been working with a local DV charity for years and started trotting out the old 'born in the wrong body' nonsense. That was the end of my standing order to them, and to the friendship. I have a particularly unpleasant message still on my phone from that kind, woke, 'feminist' lesbian friend calling me a hate filled, bigoted, small-minded cunt.