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Couple fears the worst after seven pet donkeys disappear

A couple who lives near Doornkop on the N11 fears the worst after their pet donkeys seemingly vanished into thin air.

June 10, 2019

Jana Boshoff 2 minutes read

Erica Potgieter says that they had seven donkeys. Last week, on her way to work, she noticed her donkeys running on the gravel road. She herded them back into their camp, but a stallion was missing.

Over the weekend, Mrs Potgieter and her husband, Francois, drove around Doornkop to try and find their missing stallion. Mrs Potgieter says that donkeys from Doornkop often visit their mares and they have gotten to know the community very well as they have often gone to Doornkop to recover their donkeys. This time, no one has seen them.

On Sunday night, Mrs Potgieter fed the remaining donkeys. On Monday morning when she left for work, they were missing.

She says that there is no sign of them, no tracks and no place where the fence was damaged, to give them a clue as to what could have happened to their pets.
“We have shed so many tears. Those donkeys are like our children, they are the most amazing animals,” says Mrs Potgieter.

She has heard about the horrific skinning of donkeys whilst they are still alive to be used as Chinese medicine.

It was also notable that they saw very few donkeys when searching through Doornkop.

“Usually there was a donkey on every street corner. This time the only donkey we saw was pulling a cart,” she says.

The couple has opened a case with the police’s Stock Theft Unit and police are currently on the farm taking statements and gathering information.
If anyone has information about the missing donkeys, they can call the www.mobserver.co.za 24 hour standby number on 072 248 3855.

• The Potgieter’s love for donkeys started when a previous tenant moved and asked if he could leave the donkey behind on the farm. Mrs Potgieter said that she noticed the donkey pacing up and down next to the fence where the neighbour kept his cattle. She read up about donkey behaviour and realized that donkeys are social animals that need company. Her husband gave her a donkey mare for her birthday and that was the beginning of it.