The story began after a herd of the dwarf animals were left to breed at will and fend for themselves by some Texas ranchers, something folks at Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue of San Angelo say was irresponsible.
Rescuers stepped in when the ranchers realized a drought was pitting their cattle business against the rapidly growing herd of diminutive donkeys.
"When the lack of West-Central Texas rainfall brought their cattle raising business in direct conflict with their donkey hoarding problem Peaceful Valley was called to relieve some of the numbers," the group wrote on a website dedicated to the huge herd.
In order to stem further breeding, the group insisted on taking the entire herd from the ranchers.
Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue has become anything but tranquil.
What's more, many of the female donkeys--called jennets--are pregnant, so the animals are still growing in numbers and will likely hit 250 within a few months.
One way the group is asking for help is with castrating the male donkeys, or jacks. For those unable to travel to Texas and lend a hand directly, Peaceful Valley has created a GoFundMe campaign for the cause.
Contributing funds to "Castrating 85 Mini Rescued Jacks" will help the operation castrate the jacks, which costs about $150 each time, in order to ensure the rampant breeding doesn't continue elsewhere.
Because these donkeys did not live in contact with humans, they are not friendly to people. This means adopting out the animals will take time.
To that end, Peaceful Valley is seeking assistance from people who would like to help in the gentling of this herd.
For a few of the donkeys, that help came from a Triple R Horse Rescue in Cave Creek, Arizona. Rescuers there are taking in 20 animals, which they hope to work with and eventually adopt out at $400 each.
In the meantime, Peaceful Valley says the initial cost of the rescue will exceed $30,000. Anyone interested in making a donation to the cause can get donation information on the GoFundMe page or here.
