I'm moving the Donkey Tagging discussion over here as it's a better location to discuss it.

Jake

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The following discussion started in:

http://www.oldbonairetalk.com/newsgroup/messages/11308/26157.html

and relates to the request from the Donkey Sanctuary for paintball guns and night-time reflective paint to mark donkeys for better night time visibility and negative reinforcement about getting too close to vehicles (paintballs, while not dangerous, can cause a small on human skin, less so on donkey hide).

You could raise money with the Donkey tagging idea. Charge money to have people become temporary "conservationists" by letting them help tag the donkeys. If you had three guns, you could have two guests come along with an approved supervisor. I bet a lot of people would have fun. The thrill of hunting with a positive outcome in mind.

I'm coming in August, if you need supplies, I could bring them along.

Jake wants to help tag the donkeys too. :-)

I *LOVE* the donkey taggin' idea. I hope you can get an item on CNN or one of the major networks in the US. It has enough novelty appeal. Maybe the Prince would like to try it when he visits with his new bride?

Go crazy!!! What would Jake look like in a donkey outfit?? Then he could show us his ink-spot on the reef cam-- Oh there!! All for a great cause.

Bill

EXTREME SPORTS UPDATE

DONKEY TAGGING IN BONAIRE

Though many scoff at this sport, few who have tried it will not get a shiver when this subject comes up. Standing tall in the night ready to paint the donkey with only a compressed air gun to protect you from his shin busting hooves. the legendary " killing musth" of the beasts must be carefully watched for. When and if it comes on, the only hope is to run for the car, and hope it was left running! Entire towns have been destroyed when two of these great beasts musth at the same time. There is speculation about the "lost" island of Donkeyo, sunk when 100 donkeys became simultaneously enraged and kicked the island into the sea in just over four hours. Many animals perished, but those who could swim made it to Bonaire, where they have flourished.

( entry taken from Encyclopedia Neverhappena)

I’m mostly serious about this idea.

Who would I need to talk with to help organize this?

I would be willing to look into obtaining and delivering the equipment in August:
- paintball gun(s) and paint balls with night-time reflective paints for the Donkey Sanctuary to both mark donkeys for better night visibility and a slightly negative reinforcement (the thump of getting smacked by a paintball during marking). Cost not known.

The people who are concerned about the donkey problem could use this opportunity to educate visitors about the donkeys as well as raise money for their conservation efforts. Although I would suggest that surplus money get put into the general Support Bonaire fund. For that latter reason, it may make sense to have it organized and run by the Support Bonaire group.

It goes something like this:

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Join Bonaire Support’s Donkey Tag “Hunt”

Help in our Donkey conservation efforts by joining the “Hunt” to tag donkeys found wandering in urban areas where they are in danger of being struck by cars. You can help tag them with reflective paint balls shot by paint ball guns. This accomplishes two things: 1. the reflective paint helps motorists avoid them, and 2. the smack of the paint ball is a negative reinforcement for being in the wrong location.

Space is limited. Reservations required.
$50 per person.
Contact xxxxx for availability.
-----------------------------------------------

Bonaire Support organizes it with help from the Donkey Sanctuary. Days and times are setup, volunteers are signed up, and a Donkey Sanctuary (or appropriate conservationist) leader is assigned to take the people out. You collect them money, equip the group, they have fun, and the donkeys don’t, but they get tagged.

What do ya think?

Heck, if you want to try and set it up, I'll be among the first participants - wouldn't have to move much beyond my front door (at 2am, mind you) :-)

Talk to Marina at the Donkey Sanctuary (http://www.DonkeySanctuary.org) - donkeyshelp@bonairelive.com

I'd think proceeds from any such thing should go to the Donkey Sanctuary instead of Support Bonaire, however.

Jake

Linda and I spent some time at the Donkey Sanctuary this morning, and talked to Marina about the paint ball thing.

It turns out that the main reason she wants the paint ball guns is to be able to mark herds with different colors to help analyze their foraging and travel patterns, and thereby to also aid in coming up with more accurate population numbers - it's her belief based on years of observation, that people think there are more donkeys on Bonaire than there truly area because herds cover a wide area, and are "counted" multiple times.

In a one-week aerial survey performed by her in a helicopter last summer, she and two other observers counted less than 300 wild donkeys on the island.

She would also be very happy to have anyone who donates paint ball guns and supplies to accompany her and her team on tagging expeditions :-)

Her ultimate dream, by the way, it to be able to have the Donkeys Help Foundation purchase more land (she has 13 acres presently and needs a total of about 30) to house all the currently wild donkeys, kind of a preserve. This would both help protect the donkeys from cars, dogs, and violent people (someone shot two donkeys here over the weekend I was told), as well as prevent them from being nuisances. It would also make a very nice, safe, tourist attraction.

Jake

Marina is a very smart lady...I think she is doing such a wonderful thing on Bonaire. Anyone who can support her cause should do so and feel proud to do it. Can't wait to get back to the Sanctuary to visit our adopted "child" and adopt a few more while we are there this year! Carole

We had a similiar discussion awhile back, during the times we have been on the island I drive around alot as Steve dives and it does seem like I am seeing the same donkeys in places...I think Marinas #'s are closer to the mark.... Carole..I just heard you can adopt from Sarah..thats a wonderful idea....I know my daughter went to a paint ball event and she still has a good scar on her back....but she is not a donkey! can it hurt them in any way? I wouldn't think so if Marina is recommending it...

Donkeys have very thick hides, literally. It would probably surprise them more than anything else (and donkeys don't like being surprised :-) ).

Jake

Jake

"Her ultimate dream, by the way, it to be able to have the Donkeys Help Foundation purchase more land (she has 13 acres presently and needs a total of about 30) to house all the currently wild donkeys, kind of a preserve. This would both help protect the donkeys from cars, dogs, and violent people (someone shot two donkeys here over the weekend I was told), as well as prevent them from being nuisances. It would also make a very nice, safe, tourist attraction".

How much are we talking here to purchase the extra land? I'm not about to sell our assets, but I'm certainly going try and think of a way to raise the $$$$!!! Is there no room at WS Park, how about fencing that place in and letting the donkeys roam there instead of on the streets.. surely some fencing wouldn't cost that much. Even if it's only a temporary measure until Marina obtains the extra land.. how about it WSP????

ps: thanks for the Press Release, nice photo too, and I'm sorry to read about yet another hit and run on Bonaire, (see this week's Bonaire Reporter). Sarah (still checking e-mail and BT from time to time)....

It is my guess that the donkeys on Bonaire are not a real friend to the environment. After all, they are not native animals. WS park is meant to be an area where negative impacts to the environment are minimized. I don't think confining 300 donkeys within the park's boundaries is in line with this goal.

Sure..

WSP has 13,500 acres.. Marina needs 30, and according to WSP info, there are already wild donkeys in the park. If this is not the case, then how about sectioning off 30 acres, I wonder...

http://bonairereporter.com/news/2002Issues/current/page4.htm

I'm having to leave this computer now, all the best.. Sarah

Donkeys and goats are actually really bad for the native vegetation, and therefore are not desired residents of Washington Park.

As far as the amount of money to buy the land, I forgot to ask! Oops! I'll check with Marina.

Jake

Jake, I'm not gone yet, seems I have a little more time.. I appreciate what you're saying, and I understand... Look, I'm no expert, but if 30 acres were to be sectioned, then what's the problem?

ps: Collection Boxes.. these should be planted all over the island.. especially at the Dive Operators! I don't recall seeing one at Plaza.. I could be wrong here, but if there isn't one, I'll bring one along myself, and more if necessary!

The best solution for WSP and donkeys sounds like fencing off 30 acres outside the park for the donkeys. Win, win, as they say. And then, how about the feral goats?? (As an aside, I have been told that ownership of any goat hit by a tourist's car is immediately claimed by someone. Never before, only after.)

Or perhaps, for WSP, a donkey/goat fence across the island along the south border of the park, a la Australia's rabbit fence. Then the island can move the animals south of the fence by staging a donkey and goat drive in the park by tourists, charging a fee for participation. Win, win, win!!!

Two problems with the WSP/Donkey idea:

1) The land of Washington Park was granted to Bonaire under the condition it remain whole;

2) The infrastructure of the existing Donkey Sanctuary is at the other end of the island (where land is technically still available).

Jake

Is the land that Marina is trying to purchase adjacent to her now existing property? I know she had a hard time even getting that parcel. I think it would be better to keep them all in the same place...

I like Glenn's and Maria's ideas. Making it a both a tourist attraction and a information center to help finance it isn't a bad idea either.

Certainly, it would be ideal to keep the donkeys in the same place. The idea of moving the donkeys into a sectioned area of the park, was a way to save $$$$.. Of course, should this have ever happended, the park could have raised their entrance fee by say $1 in order to help finance the extention to the Sanctuary. The existing Sanctuary is a tourist attraction, and obviously, should there be an extension to it, the idea would be for that extension to be a tourist attraction also... But, as Jake has pointed out above, WSP land must remain whole, so no sectioning off what would have been a very small percentage of the park! So, back to the drawing board...

I personally think there should be an effort made to reduce the number of donkeys on the island.

Yes Greg, but unfortunately it's still back to the drawing board, as controlling the population requires more $$$$...

In the interim, I have recently received an e-mail from the Donkey Sanctuary on the Isle of Wight, there's a possibility they can help. I'll also be spending some time with Marina this summer and I'll share a few more fund raising ideas with her then.

Meryl - yes - Marina would like to buy the adjacent land if that were possible.

Greg - if the sanctuary were expanded, and all wild donkeys moved into it (it would be fenced in too), I'd think that would certainly remove the issues many people (me included) have with the donkeys. You'd no longer need to worry about hitting one accidentally when driving (or hitting the vehicle of an ignorant tourist who stops their car in the middle of the road to feed a donkey, in the road), and in our case, we wouldn't have to worry about donkeys knocking over our garbage cans or riling up our dogs at some horrible early morning hour.

And, it would create a great visitor attraction. Everyone wins if the donkey preserve can get set up.

Jake

OK, Marina has about half the land she needs to house 300 donkeys. Why not get rid of half the donkeys on the island, and house the rest on the land she already has. Not only does this save the cost of the additional land, but also the cost of feeding and caring for 150 additional donkeys. I'm sure the remaining 150 donkeys would be plenty for a tourist attraction.

I believe that 150 donkeys is not even to create a proper breeding colony in terms of necessary genetic diversity necessary for multi-generational survival. That aside, no politician on Bonaire would want to face the backlash of ordering the slaughter of half the island's donkey population.

Jake

As I'm sure would be the case in most civilized countries Jake!

ps: did you ever obtain a figure from Marina ?

I'll check my mail again in a few days.. Sarah

Oh well, Sarah is mad at me. For the record, I am a self-proclaimed animal lover. But I have a problem with animals that are introduced into an environment where they do not belong. At best they become a nuisance. Usually their impact is much worse. Look at what the caribbean tree frog has done to the bird population in Hawaii. Or feral cats have done in the Australian outback. Or any of the other of thousands of examples. I guess what I am getting at is the donkeys do not belong on Bonaire. It is hard to tell what the impact they have had on the environment, but I think it is more than just being a nuisance. I have no emotional bond to them so I seeing them go so that the natural inhabitants of the island can thrive is no problem for me. As for the feelings of the Bonaire people about getting rid of them, I will have to defer to Jake. I am sure there would be many people who would be unhappy. Others probably wouldn't care (the recent shootings, for example). Uncivilized, blah, blah, blah.

Greg, not mad, just passionate! Heading off to Lynchburg, take care all and I hope to post back some good news from the Sanctuary on Isle of Wight soon..

Sarah,

Marina's checking into the matter - will probably take some time as there are two different property owners involved.

Jake

And FYI about feeding stations outside the sanctuary for the donkeys.
Marina said it was not possible because it was likely that some people would put poison in the food to kill them. Especially after the two that were shot, I can believe it.

Just checked my in-box, received a message from the Donkey Sanctuary on Isle of Wight, they have offered Marina some help. Once I know more, I'll post it here. Sarah

Just found this topic. Very interesting points made here. Most have a great deal of merit. Feral animals can indeed have a severely negative impact on an environment. I've read somewhere that historical island areas on the Eastern US coast, try to preserve the populations but keep them to whatever the optimum manageable size is for the footprint. I intend to support any effort mounted ( except trimming the herd below that of a comfortable breeding mix ). By the way, I believe Marina mentioned to me a while back, the reason they don't set out more donation boxes, is that they hav a tendency to be broken in to. Right now, even with the increased support from Jake, Support Boniare and others, there is still quite a shortfall of funds to service the existing sanctuary. Help if you can. It's great to see so many people interested in this.
The Clownfish.

Brian, nice to see your post, hope all is well

I've had recent contact with Marina myself, and sadly, the donation boxes being broken into is yet another example of something standing in the way of a good idea. Without wanting to seem pessimistic, unless local people/businesses take more of an interest, and Marina obtains the land she so desperately needs, I'm afraid the future for Bonaire donkeys is looking rather bleak. I can't share too much on this board, but some of the e-mails I've received and stories I've been told are really rather worrying.

I am fully aware of the negative impact feral animals can have on an environment, but I also believe in this, "where there's a will, there's a way"!

The sanctuary does have volunteers, but not enough. I will help Marina myself this Summer, but there will come a time when people like me will not be on the Island and other committments will arise..

Certainly, continued donations and volunteers would be much appreciated..

Greetings Sarah.
Good to hear from you. Yes, I'm aware of the fact that there is less than entuhsiastic local support from some quarters for the donkeys as well. It's my hope that Marina can " hang on " until what will probably need to be a combination of solutions/efforts are mounted to maintain/contain the population safely. I know many people donate time and $$, and for that I'm thankful. We'll be down there is less than two weeks ( OH FRABJOUS DAY, CALOOAH CALLAY! ), and during that time, I intend to try and get an understanding as to the extent of the ongoing operating expenses. I'm pretty certain the sanctuary is a 501c 3 ( qualifying non-profit org. here in the colonies ), so donations and adoption efforts are considered tax deductable. My family is trying to talk with several business orgs. here to see if they'll extend their programs to help out. I'll have to present a solid project with a budget to get any real attention though, so hence the research. Hope you and your significant other are in fine health and safe. Perhaps we'll meet someday, if I can get far enough ahead of the rats in the rat race to finally spend a wholelottabuncha time on my adopted island.
The Clownfish.

Brian,

The Donkey Sanctuary does not have a 501(c)(3) IRS classification - that's one of the reasons we created Support Bonaire, Inc. Only Jong Bonaire and STCB have U.S. 501(c)(3) sister corporations in the U.S. (and STCB's appears to not distribute money to STCB here on Bonaire for some reason I can't fathom).

Jake

Jake.
Thanks for the update. When I first started going to the sanctuary, I'd asked Marina about this status. Sometime later, she told me she thought it was in place. My error, and apologies to anyone misled by my post. This won't alter my efforts though, and I hope others will get on board as well. Perhaps we can chat about this when I get there. Happy to work through Support Bonaire, for this and other programs.
Brian.

Hi Brian, we're doing just great, thanks...

Yes, I hope that we shall meet someday, this Summer trip could well be our last for a while (though we are still thinking about Xmas and New Year).. We plan to visit French Polynesia (Rangiroa) next Summer and then onto Galapagos later in the year. My Aussie family are also calling on us, so perhaps we'll fit them in sometime in 2004!

When you see Marina, I hope she will introduce you to Sarah.. I'm looking forward to meeting her myself next month.

And Brian, I'm so happy for Marina that you are also taking an interest and making efforts to make their lives that little bit more pleasant.