Mic McFarlane reckons his specially trained attack donkeys are the
philosophers of the animal world.
He has 19 feral donkeys from Central Australia he is using in a trial to
guard sheep from wild dogs in the southern Riverina area of New South
Wales.
The Hume Livestock Health and Pest Authority pest animal ranger said he
got them about two weeks ago and they were now quiet enough to handle in
the yards and put a rope on.
"When they unloaded the donkeys off the truck at six o'clock on a
Saturday morning I thought, 'What the hell am I doing?"' he said. "(But)
they are amazing animals, they learn very quickly and respond very much
like a dog. They’re remarkable animals, they’re super intelligent. They
look like a horse with big ears
but I’ve found it’s best to train them like they’re a dog with big ears. The thing is if they they don't want to do it, they don't do it.
"I really do believe now they are the philosophers of the animal
kingdom, they will stare and look and look and look, and until they are
satisfied they will not move. But I will be matching donkeys to
landowners depending on their temperaments. If there is somebody who I
don't like,
I will give them the one that kicked me. He is named Shithead." Mr
McFarlane said he first trialled a few donkeys in February which he
purchased in Victoria but it was difficult to buy big numbers of them,
except feral ones.
He said the property that had used the donkeys had lost about 100 sheep
in the previous year but since February there had been no attacks. The
donkeys are initially kept in a small yard with a small amount of sheep
or goats and the area and the number of animals are slowly increased.
That is until the sheep and donkeys are first class mates. "Once they
have bonded that flock becomes their mob," he said. "They have a natural
hate of canines. They hate them for some reason."
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