Our farms

Brookfield Farm

Brookfield Farm was purchased in 1976 and is home to almost 300 donkeys and mules. The farm runs over almost 134 acres, including 10 acres of woodland, and is perched on top of a hill 805 feet above sea level, looking out over the beautiful valley of Farway.

The donkeys on the farm are some of the youngest and fittest in the sanctuary, as the fields leading down to the valley are very steep. The older donkeys are kept on the flatter fields at the top of the farm.

The farm offers a variety of training courses for donkey owners and handlers, and Donkey Guardians preparing to foster donkeys from The Donkey Sanctuary.

At-a-glance

This farm is not open to the public.

Operational on this site since: 1976.

Size: 133.06 acres including fields and woodland.

Location: Brookfield, Devon.

Key activities: Donkey Sanctuary farm; veterinary hospital.

Donkey population: 273 (capacity: 280): Irish males, rehoming potential, mares and foals, grannies.

Staffing: 10 staff: 1 farm manager, 1 farm supervisor, 8 farm workers/grooms, 12 volunteers.

Events: Training courses.

Derbyshire Centre

The Derbyshire Centre (Newton Farm), located in Flagg near Buxton, is open to the public every Sunday between May and September, and runs training courses throughout the year for donkey owners and handlers, and Donkey Guardians preparing to foster donkeys from The Donkey Sanctuary. The centre has a new arrivals unit and often receives rescue donkeys.

At-a-glance

This farm is open to the public on Sundays between May and September.

Operational on this site since: 1991.

Size: 28.5 acres.

Location: Buxton, Derbyshire.

Key activities: Donkey Sanctuary farm.

Facilities: 3 large donkey barns, training centre, field shelters.

Donkey population: 45 (capacity: 40 in winter, 60 in summer), comprising of a mixture of donkeys including relinquishments, potentials for rehoming/donkey-assisted activity, young and fit, elderly and respiratory challenged donkeys.

Staffing:Derbyshire centre operates under the supervision of 19 members of staff, including a farm manager, supervisor, five farm workers/grooms and 12 volunteers.

Events: Training courses, 6 major open days a year, starting on the first Sunday of each month from May to September, including a summer fair in August.

East Axnoller Farm

Axnoller Farm is situated 35 miles from The Donkey Sanctuary Sidmouth and nestles in the Dorset hills at the starting point of the River Axe. The farm was bought in December 1990 and consists of 60 hectares (148 acres) of land that is used for grazing the donkeys and for making haylage in the summer.

During the winter months the grass is let out to a local farmer for his sheep, which helps keep the grass down when it is too wet for the donkeys to be out in the fields.

As well as healthy donkeys, this farm is home to a group needing special care for respiratory problems. There is also a controlled diet group (the steep hills are great for providing the donkeys with the additional exercise they need) and a mule/pony group.

At-a-glance

This farm is not open to the public.

Operational on this site since: December 1990.

Size: 147.22 acres.

Location: Beaminster, Dorset.

Key activities: Donkey Sanctuary farm.

Facilities: 5 main barns, woodchip area, fields and paddocks, some woodland.

Donkey population: 310 donkeys and 50 ponies and mules (full capacity): young Irish, middle-aged, elderly, mules, fat ponies, less fat ponies, rehoming/donkey-assisted activity potential.

Staffing: 6 full time, 5 part time, volunteers: 6-8 regulars.

Events: The farm is open for one day a year during Donkey Week in May.

Paccombe Farm

Paccombe Farm is located in the beautiful hamlet of Harcombe near The Donkey Sanctuary Sidmouth. Half of it (approximately 90 acres) consists of woodland where wildlife such as otters, bats and dormice can be seen. The Woodland is in the Higher Level Stewardship scheme (HLS), which entails a lot of work in the winter months, to manage in accordance with the HLS prescriptions. The layout of the farm is ideal both for the specific needs of elderly donkeys and for groups of young donkeys.

The Paccombe Training Centre is based on the farm, offering a range of free courses on donkey care and behaviour as well as bespoke training days for equine welfare organisations, schools, colleges, vets and farriers. This facility also provides the perfect area for trainers to work with the donkeys in small separate groups to prepare them for going out to new loving homes. The Farm staff undertake training and behaviour work with donkeys identified to join the rehoming Scheme.

At-a-glance

This farm is not open to the public.

Operational on this site since: 1978.

Size: 90 acres grazing, 90 acres woodland.

Location: Harcombe, Devon.

Key activities: Sanctuary farm, The Paccombe Training Centre, the farm makes its own haylage and is responsible for the emptying of dirty water tanks at Paccombe and other sanctuary sites.

Facilities: Large donkey Barns, several smaller individual units, Woodland, Training Centre, Reception Area and a wildlife pond.

Donkey population: 374 donkeys, including groups of elderly, bad breathers, special care, young donkeys, rehoming/donkey-assisted activity potential.

Staffing:13 staff and15 volunteers.

Events: Training courses; the farm is open for one day a year during Donkey Week in May.

Slade House Farm

Slade House Farm is The Donkey Sanctuary's headquarters and is open to the public every day of the year. Slade House Farm was the home of Dr Elisabeth Svendsen, the organisation’s founder, after she moved from the Salston Hotel in nearby Ottery St Mary, Devon in 1974. The farmhouse that she lived in has been converted into administrative offices.

As well as housing the organisation’s head office, Slade House Farm is home to a wide range of donkeys including new arrivals, large breeds and partially sighted donkeys. Visitor facilities and The Donkey Sanctuary Sidmouth’s donkey-assisted activity centre are located on the farm.

Until 2017 the sanctuary’s veterinary hospital was also located on the site, but a new hospital was built at Brookfield Farm and the old building converted into stabling.

At-a-glance

This farm is open to the public.

Operational on this site since: 1974.

Size: 132.54 acres including fields and woodland.

Location: Between Sidmouth and Branscombe, Devon.

Key activities: Visitor centre; organisation’s headquarters; farm.

Facilities: 21 areas of barns and shelters. Visitors’ centre. Restaurant. Gift shop. Extensive car parking. Walking trails.

Donkey population: 220, comprising special care, partially sighted, potential rehoming/donkey-assisted activity, large breed donkeys, foals, isolation/new arrivals.

Staffing: Slade House Farm operates under the supervision on 30 members of staff, including a Farm manager, supervisor, a mixture of full time and part time grooms and eight volunteers.

Key events: Ongoing throughout the year, including training courses, Donkey Week, daily talks in the donkey areas, Memorial Day, Carols by Candlelight and seasonal donkey trails which are available to buy.

Town Barton Farm

Nestled on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, hidden behind the little parish church sits Town Barton.

Town Barton provides sanctuary to a variety of equids including donkeys, mules and hinnies and extends to approximately 157 acres of grassland, natural woodlands and an orchard. The woodland provides natural shade and shelter to the resident equines and is home to an abundance of wildlife. In the summer months a brown hare can be seen playing in the fields and hiding in the hedgerows that border the paddocks, which provides a variety of enrichment to the donkeys, mules and hinnies.

The team at Town Barton specialise in producing detailed training plans to shape the behaviour of mules that sometimes arrive in our care with complex behaviour needs. Training plans are developed with input from our behaviour experts and the veterinary team to ensure we develop effective methods of shaping equine behaviour. The role of the grooms who train our equines at Town Barton, requires skills such as dedication, patience and self-awareness.

At-a-glance

This farm is not open to the public.

Operational on this site since: 1982.

Size: Approximately 157 acres of grassland, natural woodlands and a traditional orchard.

Location: Tedburn St Mary, Devon.

Key activities: Shaping the behaviour of mules and preparing them for handling using training plans and a specialist handling unit.

Facilities: Hybrid specific groups catering for the needs of mules and hinnies. Mixed donkey groups. Sand exercise arena. Handling unit. Shower area for bathing equines.

Donkey population: Over 200 equids, comprising of a mixture of donkeys, mules and hinnies including donkeys assessed as suitable for our Guardian scheme.

Staffing: Town Barton operates under the supervision of 12 members of staff, including a Farm manager, supervisor and a mixture of full-time and part-time grooms.

Events: The farm is open for one day a year during Donkey Week in May.

Trow Farm

Trow Farm is adjacent to Slade House Farm on the site of The Donkey Sanctuary Sidmouth, and is the largest of all The Donkey Sanctuary’s farms. It was purchased in 1997 and received its first resident donkeys in 2002. It is a mainly agricultural farm, providing hay and straw for the donkeys on the charity’s other properties.

The farm is split into two halves, known as Trow and Hurfords, by the A3052. Hurfords is steep land in a valley, which houses younger, healthier donkeys and joins another of the sanctuary’s farms, Paccombe. Trow is flat land and houses geriatrics and donkeys with poor teeth or long-term health problems. A further 18.1 hectares are located at nearby Thorne Salcombe Regis, Devon.

Trow Farm is the sanctuary’s main recycling point for plastic and paper. It collects dung and wood chippings, from which it generates compost, and has willow beds for cleaning dirty water. There is also an area where staff are trained to drive and operate the various vehicles associated with the operation of the farm, and donkey transportation.

At-a-glance

This farm is not open to the public.

Operational on this site since: 1999.

Size: ;277.69 acres split by A3052 into two halves known as Trow and Hurfords (umbrella name: Trow).

Location: near Sidmouth, Devon.

Key activities: Donkey Sanctuary farm.

Facilities: Trow: 5 donkey barns, 1 reception area and 4 shelter sites. The international department and farm administration department are based on this site. Hurfords: 4 donkey barns, a stabled area with yard and 1 reception area, a straw barn, a machinery shed, walking trails, public footpaths.

Donkey population: 465 (267 Hurfords, 198 Trow): laminitics, bad breathers, special care, dieters, potential rehoming/donkey-assisted activity.

Staffing: 8 full-time, 5 part-time (including grooms/farm workers, tractor drivers, telehandler drivers, trainers), 1 manager, 1 supervisor, 1 apprentice, 6 volunteers.

External services: Provided by The Donkey Sanctuary: farm administration, lorry drivers, equine dentist, vets, vet nurses, Ben Hart (animal behaviourist). Provided by third-party providers: farrier, agricultural engineers.

Events: Life skills (last week of June and first week of July - has run for 10 years, in association with Devon and Cornwall Police), Donkey Week in May. The Donkey Sanctuary’s main events field is located on this site.

Woods Farm

Woods Farm is located on 198 acres of land close to The Donkey Sanctuary Sidmouth and provides care for 442 donkeys. The farm is lucky to have a large number of young fit donkeys, some of which are suitable for rehoming. Our team at Woods farm specialise in the training and preparation of donkeys for the rehoming scheme. A lot of hard work, dedication and patience is needed; however, the work is so rewarding for the team when donkeys eventually join a new loving home.

There is also an elderly group located in the centre of the farm and a small group of miniature donkeys.

The land is steep in parts but the donkeys enjoy the exercise and they have the freedom to roam as long as the weather and ground conditions are favourable.

The Donkey Sanctuary purchased Woods Farm in 1989 from a farmer called Tony Reid who kept chickens as well as outdoor pigs and a small dairy herd.

At-a-glance

This farm is not open to the public.

Operational on this site since: 1989.

Size: 198 acres.

Location: Bowd, near Sidmouth, Devon.

Key activities: Donkey Sanctuary farm.

Facilities: 9 barns, one reception area and two foals paddocks with shelter.

Donkey population: 442 (full capacity): young, middle aged, elderly, Miniatures, rehoming and donkey-assisted activity potential.

Staffing: 17 staff, 11 volunteers.

Events:The farm is open for one day a year during Donkey Week in May.