The Donkey Sanctuary’s mission is to transform the quality of life for donkeys, mules and people worldwide through greater understanding, collaboration and support, and by promoting lasting, mutually life-enhancing relationships. Our vision is a world where donkeys and mules live free from suffering, and their contribution to humanity is fully valued. Our values are compassion, collaboration and creativity are The Donkey Sanctuary values. They are the key to our journey as they represent what we stand for and what we measure ourselves against.

The Donkey Sanctuary is above all else compassionate. We never turn away from a donkey in need. Donkeys and the people who rely on them for their livelihoods or to help them cope with physical, mental and emotional challenges, lie at the heart of everything we do. We act as a global driving force for caring, both for suffering donkeys and mules, and for all those people whose lives they touch – generating understanding, compassion and support all over the world.

The Donkey Sanctuary is collaborative in all its activities, working through a worldwide network of partner organisations, communities and individuals. We work inclusively with people frequently marginalised within their own countries and communities, whether due to poverty, ignorance, race, gender or disabilities. We treat every interaction as a two-way opportunity to learn and to teach. We know that it is only together that we can help donkey owners and carers become donkey welfare ambassadors wherever they live and work.

The Donkey Sanctuary’s goals are ambitious, but its resources are finite – which means that we must exercise creativity to meet the ambitious goals we set ourselves. Whether this be in adapting locally available materials for donkey-friendly harness across projects that span four different continents, in developing donkey assisted therapy activities tailored to the unique challenges of a child with additional needs, or reaching donkey owning communities in the midst of man-made or natural disasters – creative thinking underpins everything we do.