Final Self-Reflection

            This final project was an incredible tool for me to increase my abilities in self-reflection. My choice – donkeys – was, primarily, out of the blue, trying to pick a domestic animal that is not really common in urban areas – where most of people live nowadays. Despite of searching a lot of subjects, this really helped me in improving my capacity in researching, exploring different articles, websites, news, historical texts, scientific data, etc. I have found novel information that I would never discover if it wasn’t for this project and what it requires.

            I finally realized that donkeys are, indeed, terrific animals, what just emphasizes my original though regarding animals in general: each creature is very special, each of them has its unique features that we, humans, don’t.

            My thoughts in respect to animals have certainly strengthened with all the classes of this course. One of the main impacts I have had was that I do share my moral points of view with many other people, and that these issues are just more complex than I originally thought. Traditions, cultures, all social perceptions must be carefully studied, analyzed and, then, we can extract our own conclusions, which may not be definitive – and they mustn’t. One class that really exemplifies this was the one about “Pet Loss and Owner Grief”, in which religion, beliefs and moral are involved. Respect may be the keyword for the entire course and, why not, for our lives.

            I also realized that these aforementioned social variables can be extremely strong among peoples or inside a person’s mind. Thence, there is no right or wrong that can be imposed to other, but rather opportunities to study more, gather information and mount our self-reflection. 

Moral Vision Statement

    We humans are what we currently are because of many evolutionary reasons. And, obviously, animals play the main role in this development, being active characters, not mere tools serving us. They provided us their skin, their meat, their organs, their blood, their work, and so forth. Without them, we could barely survive in this planet. Unfortunately, as our current busy society has developed, we gained distance from those who act as a “fuel” for our lives: animals. Unfair classification has been established to ease their management, handling and our own psychological point of view toward them: farm animals, lab animals, companion animals and wildlife. Most of us have forgotten to look to other beings: they also have individuality and intend to live their lives with minimal unnatural interference. Considering that, we all should rise respect toward these creatures, think of what is in fact indispensable when it comes to take away their lives, and have the consciousness that we all are connected in a complex and perfect net; some of our acts, if not carefully measured, can cause serious damage to all of us and our home, the Earth. 

Compromise

1 – License for companies that provide donkeys to events.

            Licensed groups would certainly evoke more reliability when people intend to hire this service. A well done inspection, conducted by trained staff of the United States Department of Agriculture, would guarantee a minimal standard of quality in animals’ wellbeing and in treatment toward them. Thence, hirers would be more confident when bringing them to their events. In addition, some animal welfare organizations can closely monitor some inspections and their requirements. If something comes out of the common sense in ethical treatment to animals, these organizations could be able to help these companies to improve their quality (animal welfare and staff training).

2 – More promotional material related to donkeys’ behavior.

            Both companies and animal welfare organizations could better provide more material regarding the real essence of these animals. This goal would be better achieved if many media entries were considered, such as television programs or advertisements, newspaper and magazines articles and virtual publicity. Thence, all kinds of target audience would receive the message and when people attend these events will already know what each donkey’s movement means. This can also contribute with self-conscience and decrease in speciesism, such as the terminology “jackass” or the expression “stubborn as a donkey”. Respect would rise toward these animals.

3 – An expert or professional present in each donkey ball event.

            This can contribute to better monitoring procedures during the games. That way, if some layman sees a donkey really stressed out, or behaving weirdly can immediately demand a professional care and intervention during the game. This could prevent animal welfare impairment or even some accident involving a donkey, a human or both. Thence, companies would have more reliability as well, and animal welfare organizations could ease their worries when it comes to injuries during games.

Controversial Topic - Con

 To American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – ASPCA and People for Ethical Treatment of Animals - PETA:

            It is extremely comforting American people have both organizations fighting for animals’ wellbeing and rights. If it wasn’t for your efforts, I have no idea where animal welfare status would be (most likely in a lower and more detrimental baseline). And it is very praiseworthy that both organizations put different species into consideration, especially those that are not commonly seen or attached to current society. This text considers donkeys and an unnecessary practice still in vogue in many Mid-western high schools: donkey basketball or, simply, donkey ball.

            Despite of being commonly used in baseball games during 1970’s, when they gained fame, donkeys are still victims of an old tradition which places them in unfamiliar and unnatural places to provide solely human amusement.

            All of the points of view raised by both organizations are completely plausible, valuable and educational. Indeed, donkeys don’t belong to sport courts of high schools, but rather to pastures, barns or simple farms. Even though they seem well treated in promotional videos, PETA has said that never received an invitation of a farmer to check the animals’ conditions. In addition, since these groups are considered competition and not an exhibition, donkey ball companies are not required to be licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture. This can give them some kind of freedom to not follow animals’ wellbeing requirements and get away of some public complaints.

            The unanimous concern regarding donkeys being stressed during this activity can be the main key to try to educate people against it. Everyone who attends donkey balls or even see pictures of it in a website can easily see that those animals are not comfortable with the situation. Riders seem to be carried away by excitement, and pull the animals’ halters willfully in order to move them throughout the sport court when their donkeys suddenly stop, which is their attempt to fend for themselves. Indeed, many people think that this behavior is what makes everything funnier, because they believe the animal was not cooperating with its human partner, what forces human provocation towards the donkeys, contributing with the stressful situation.

            Some organizations already convinced some high school managers to cancel these events and replace them by other types of fundraising activities, more ethical ones. This is extremely meritorious!

            It is also important to consider those who use donkeys in healthier and more ethical practices, such as zootherapy or children educational programs, in which individual bonding takes place and the person realizes the real essence and behavior of this adorable animal. These practices usually involve responsible people and actual professionals who look after the donkeys, evoking lasting and health bonds between regular people and animals. Respect and esteem are indispensable toward these people.

            

Riders pulling donkeys' halters

Donkey trying to get rid of the rider

Rider's size is not compatible to donkey's load capacity

Donkey Assisted Therapy

Controversial Topic - Pro

To high schools in Mid-West of United States:

            It may seem uncommon for many of you what this letter is about, or it could be an expected tradition for others, but I donate this text to donkey basketball and its benefits for humans and animals as well.

            Donkey basketball or simply donkey ball is a genuine American tradition, originated immediately after the Great Depression, in 1930’s. This was one of the few feasible practices found by many financially broken farmers to survive during this tough period. In addition, they also achieved a way in which their animals were included. Thence, their beloved donkeys wouldn’t have to take other gloomy way, such as abandonment, euthanasia or slaughter. After they came up with this incredible idea, they started to broadcast the donkey ball.        

            This practice (donkey basketball) consists of gathering young and/or adult people, including some special donkeys to children, in a high school to raise substantial amount of money for the educational institution itself and, obviously, to promote social development, amusement, leisure and bring people together. The animals are provided by a well-known group, with years of experience in the market and related to animal physiology and behavior. Safe games are performed on the court, with enthusiasm guaranteed for the grandstand and players.

            Bringing donkeys to the school can be a great activity, once these are docile and trained animals, which can indeed add to students’ background regarding animal behavior and interactions. Donkeys are easily handled, very loyal, strong and patient. That way, people riding them can have a great time feeling how the animal interacts with them. In addition, as already mentioned, exercise and fun is guaranteed to all.

            To address and ease people’s concerns, first of all, educational material is provided in many companies’ or groups’ websites regarding the history of this practice, the quality of their professionalism, and photos of the property and the animals, so everyone can check the conditions of their environment, donkeys’ health status and biological requirements. Second, when the contract is officially signed, a mini course of donkey’s behavior and safety steps and biosafety protocols is given to the riders and staff involved during the games. Third, the company provides, besides the animals, appropriate personal protective equipment to all players and staff in order to mitigate any risk odds. Fourth, if any accident may happen, the victim will have full aid in financial medical costs provided by the amusement company.

            If any concern rises related to animals being stressed in this kind of competition, Camie Heleski, an expert in donkey’s behavior in Michigan State’s Department of Animal Science, ensures that “if they get confused, they just plain stop.”

            At the end of the competition, all the donkeys are handled by proper and experienced staff to the trucks and driven back to their original farms. There, they rest as much as they please, with plenty of adequate food, fresh water and adequate grooming.

            Ultimately, as anyone can observe, donkeys are well treated, receive all required food, water and care, and can provide harmless, fun activities to high schools, helping them in fundraising. Everybody – humans and donkeys – win.

People having fun with donkey ball

Controversial Topic

     While searching about controversial topics regarding the use of donkeys, I firstly thought of their use in cultural events, such as racings. However, in a more accurate research we can find their use in sport events. One that really caught my attention was a game called “Donkey Basketball”, which is a common practice for fundraising in the United States since 1930’s, just after the Big Depression. Its mechanism consists of provision of donkeys by a breeder or a person that owns retired animals.          

    

Donkeys being transported to a Basketball game many decades ago.

      Once the owner of the company receives a request, the animals board into a loading truck and they travel miles away until the destination. They are frequently demanded by high schools and universities throughout the entire country. Just before the game, participants/players receive instructions regarding overall rules, most common donkeys’ behaviors, and how should they treat the animals.

       The game per se is characterized by regular timing and often by four teams composed of eight to ten players. Grandstands are commonly overcrowded with cheerful supporters and some referees supervise all players’ obedience regarding the rules.    

  Donkey Basketball for fundraising

      Another kind of sport in which donkeys are used is the racing. This kind of event has been practiced over than 70 years. Even in the website of donkey resource, they mention this event as being funny, because some animals can be uncooperative, leading to amusement of all participants. Generally, these races last for a long period during the night, in a specific season (mid-May through September every year).

    Controversially, some animal rights groups advocate against these practices, such as PETA. This organization provides a link on their website to inform how animals are frequently treated during these games. Since these animals are not covered by the Animal Welfare Act, they are at the mercy of mistreatment and no penalization. They state that these donkeys are regularly “dragged, kicked, and punched by participants who have no animal-handling experience”. In addition, they also believe that this kind of practice can lead to kids’ desensitization and their encouragement to cruelty toward animals. Ultimately, in a final topic, they provide some information regarding accidents that have happened to adults during these games: one in Illinois, a player was awarded more than U$ 110,000 for injuries during to the game.                

Donkey being pulled by a player

Adults can get hurt during these games

       I personally agree with PETA's educational piece of information. Using donkeys in such kind of sports is totally unnecessary for amusement. Even in official news aiming to promote the event, we can patently see that this is not a calm and ideal environment for them. The places are overcrowded, people yell all the time, the sound of the whistle is sharp, and many players keep pulling the animals’ halter when they refuse to enter the sport court. During the game, animals hoof in an attempt to get rid of those who are riding them. Although players receive instructions just before the game, these are very superficial and general, and many people don’t even pay attention to the expert’s words. This leads to inappropriate handling of the animals, which can cause a stressful time to those donkeys. I would, in fact, add another topic highlighting the disadvantages of donkey basketball: this practice can highly be harmful to the animals themselves; basket balls are heavy and, during the games, are thrown in a high speed, which can fall in an animal’s head or back and hurt it.

                Electronic Resources:

                About Donkey Basketball

                Company that provides donkeys

                PETA website against Donkey Basketball

Donkeys in Religion

    Donkeys are frequently mentioned in religious books, tales and representations. They can found depicted in Egyptian, Mussulman, Jewish, Judeo-Christian and even in Indian culture and stories. For example, this animal is the vehicle for the Hindu goddess Kalaratri, one of the fiercest depiction of Hindu gods. She rides a donkey, which is a symbol of loyalty and destruction of darkness and ignorance.

Kalaratri riding a donkey, symbol of loyalty

    However, the donkey is very frequently cited and artistically represented in Christianity. Since it was a regular animal, spread among several areas as a common resource of load transportation, it is portrayed many times in the Bible (Old and New Testaments) becoming a solid part of this tradition. Often compared to horses, donkeys were not a kind of animal for war battles or for pushing cavalry and fancy chariots. Actually, these animals were a representative of the humble and lowly peoples, always loyal and a source of arduous money or supplies to provide human family survival. In the Bible, we have the passage: “Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey!" (Zechariah 9:9). This meant that the Messiah would appear to everyone riding a donkey for peoples’ salvation. In the New Testament, Jesus is the one who appears on a donkey, triumphantly entering into Jerusalem, period known as Palm Sunday.

Jesus riding a donkey on Palm Sunday. Notice that the animal is depicted in a central placement, and in a high dimension.

     When Jesus came into Jerusalem gates, the whole crowd recognized the Messiah prophecy because of the donkey and shout: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Mt 21:9), which is still done as a salutation when the Holy Sacrifice is celebrated. The donkey represented Jesus as a humble rustic man, on a peaceful mission. This animal, then, became the sacred throne for a King. In addition, Jesus also challenged the way of how most of the people perceived those animals: they were frequently mistreated and considered as having no soul, no right to receive respect and compassion. Thence, we can also interpret Jesus’ triumphal arrival as a questioning regarding our treatment toward animals as well.

     A contemporary consequence of this could be the common association of donkeys to humble people, and especially the religious ones. Because of this kind relationship, these animals can be seen as peaceful, significant and even holy animals.

Famous depiction of Jesus' arrival at Jerusalem

Electronic Resources:

                Donkeys in Religion and Mythology

                Kalaratri – Hindu goddess

                Jesus riding a donkey on Palm Sunday