Save Bonaire's Donkeys

[jimw]

I think I read that the Bonaire government told the sancuary to stop killing donkeys a month or so ago.

 

[Mike]

Mike,

The donkeys can take care of themselves just fine. They don't need any money, they only need some respect as rightful cohabitants of the island. According to your reasoning, the international community should just let Japan kill whales into extinction since what they do in their own waters is their business. Never mind that the consequences of their actions impact everyone.

I don't think that's true at all. I'm sure there are both direct and indirect costs. I'm sure they cause plenty of damage to personal property, cars hitting them, probably they are a nuisance just like deer and elk are to property owners, getting into people yards and eating gardens, plants etc... and the issues I'm sure are long and varied. You probably don't know all the details just as I don't because we don't live there and we aren't residents of this foreign country, but they are and they are allowed to decide their own course in life just like we are with our wild horse problems we have in the west.

I don't need the citizens of Bonaire meddling with our wild horse program here in the states anymore than Bonaire needs me meddling with their donkey program there.

I don't think donkeys or birds or lizards or anything else non-human is a rightful cohabitant of Bonaire, they are animals not people and have no rights to Bonaire. When they can write a legal brief and submit it to the human legal court system on Bonaire I think I would reconsider and accept them as cohabitants, until then they are still just animals.

And Yes, most definitely, what Japan does in it's own waters IS certainly their business, they can kill everything they can find in front of them if it's in their waters and their citizens are in agreement.

 

[agilulfo]

Please read what is written, all of what is written. The article refers to donkeys "on the streets". Not out in the scrubland, not out in the National Park, not out in the foothills. In the streets. If they wanted to get all the donkeys they would not have qualified the statement.

Your argument falls apart when you read what is written. The intend to control the in town populations, and like any good shelter, prevent overcrowding at their shelter by gelding, which is the proper term, all the stallion they bring in.

Do you have any proof that they want to eliminate the donkeys? I asked this once and you did not provide it. I'm asking again. If you still can't provide conclusive profit the plan to eliminate the donkeys, you have nothing to stand on. Your link is mostly false. My link does not say what you want it to.

Where is your proof?

This issue is nothing more than internet sensationalism and hyping by people who didn't research the issue or read complete articles, and then built a bunch of petition sites based on half truths, rumor and outright speculation.

As me and others have pointed out already the proof is in the post. You are arguing about semantics when you are talking about streets. The streets are not enclosed and they criss cross the island. The donkeys have to cross streets in order to move about. If your argument was correct, then why castrated the male donkeys at all. Just because they don't say "we want to kill all donkeys" doesn't mean that the end result of their plan won't be the same.

---------- Post added June 12th, 2014 at 01:31 PM ----------

I think I read that the Bonaire government told the sancuary to stop killing donkeys a month or so ago.

That may be true, but the eventual sterilization of all males will bring about the same result.

---------- Post added June 12th, 2014 at 01:32 PM ----------

I don't think that's true at all. I'm sure there are both direct and indirect costs. I'm sure they cause plenty of damage to personal property, cars hitting them, probably they are a nuisance just like deer and elk are to property owners, getting into people yards and eating gardens, plants etc... and the issues I'm sure are long and varied. You probably don't know all the details just as I don't because we don't live there and we aren't residents of this foreign country, but they are and they are allowed to decide their own course in life just like we are with our wild horse problems we have in the west.

I don't need the citizens of Bonaire meddling with our wild horse program here in the states anymore than Bonaire needs me meddling with their donkey program there.

I don't think donkeys or birds or lizards or anything else non-human is a rightful cohabitant of Bonaire, they are animals not people and have no rights to Bonaire. When they can write a legal brief and submit it to the human legal court system on Bonaire I think I would reconsider and accept them as cohabitants, until then they are still just animals.

And Yes, most definitely, what Japan does in it's own waters IS certainly their business, they can kill everything they can find in front of them if it's in their waters and their citizens are in agreement.

Ok, well, we fundamentally disagree about this issue.

 

[JohnN]

I'm not quite clear why you believe an invasive, non-native species should be "preserved". . .

Why is this no different from California's work to remove pigs, goats and bison from Catalina Island ?

 

[agilulfo]

First off, I am not sure you could call the donkeys an invasive species. Nevertheless, if it can be demonstrated that the Bonaire donkeys are an endangered species I don't see why they shouldn't be preserved. Are the pigs, goats and bisons from Catalina Island unique species? And does remove mean relocate of eradicate? They are two different things. In principle, I would not be opposed to the donkeys being relocated if it can be demonstrated that they pose some kind of danger to other species on the island. But I am definitely opposed to their forced extinction, given their apparent uniqueness.

 

[Lorenzoid]

From what it says on the save-the-donkeys site noted above, it sounds to me like it hasn't yet been concluded that they are a "unique species."

BONAIRE DONKEY DNA official report is in!
​

The analysis was completed by Dr. E. Gus Cothran, Ph.D., a leading equine geneticist at Texas A & M University, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences using four DNA samples taken from the Bonaire donkeys. Dr. Cothran is looking forward to the next set of samples and the possibilities the results could have to the scientific community and the world with regards to an endangered species even considered extinct. Dr. Cothran states, "the samples of Bonaire Island had perfect match to haplotypes of historic Nubian Ass samples..." Dr. Cothran also asked the Bonaire government for more samples to complete a full scientific study, which requires 25 samples. Once complete, he will officially publish his findings.

 

[agilulfo]

From what it says on the save-the-donkeys site noted above, it sounds to me like it hasn't yet been concluded that they are a "unique species."

BONAIRE DONKEY DNA official report is in!
​

The analysis was completed by Dr. E. Gus Cothran, Ph.D., a leading equine geneticist at Texas A & M University, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences using four DNA samples taken from the Bonaire donkeys. Dr. Cothran is looking forward to the next set of samples and the possibilities the results could have to the scientific community and the world with regards to an endangered species even considered extinct. Dr. Cothran states, "the samples of Bonaire Island had perfect match to haplotypes of historic Nubian Ass samples..." Dr. Cothran also asked the Bonaire government for more samples to complete a full scientific study, which requires 25 samples. Once complete, he will officially publish his findings.

Correct, thus the Bonaire government should allow for the study to be completed before allowing for more donkeys to be castrated.

 

[JohnN]

First off, I am not sure you could call the donkeys an invasive species. Nevertheless, if it can be demonstrated that the Bonaire donkeys are an endangered species I don't see why they shouldn't be preserved. Are the pigs, goats and bisons from Catalina Island unique species? And does remove mean relocate of eradicate? They are two different things. In principle, I would not be opposed to the donkeys being relocated if it can be demonstrated that they pose some kind of danger to other species on the island. But I am definitely opposed to their forced extinction, given their apparent uniqueness.

According to the historical excerpts I've read, the donkeys were first brought to the island in the 1700's by the Spanish.

They are not native to Bonaire, hence an invasive species.

The first definition, the most used, applies to

introduced species (also called "non-indigenous" or "non-native") that adversely affect the habitats and bioregions they invade economically, environmentally, and/or ecologically. Such invasive species may be either plants or animals and may disrupt by dominating a region, wilderness areas, particular habitats, or wildland-urban interface land from loss of natural controls (such as predators or herbivores).

 

[flots am]

djtimmy77,

My point is that they are not endemic to Bonaire either, regardless of how they got there. Just because humans brought the donkeys there, doesn't mean that humans have the right to exterminate them especially since, according to the scientists involved, these donkeys may be the last remnants of an endangered species. Still, according to your nativist argument, people could also kill endangered specimens in zoos all over the world.

Why do they have to be endangered? I just like them. That should be enough.

The humans aren't native to the island either.

Perhaps they have plans to round those up too. They do quite a bit more damage than the donkeys.

 

[redacted]

Everybody likes a nice Nubian Ass. If it is not causing a problem, let nature take its course. If there are problems, take action to reduce/control the problem. Bonaire Oysters on the menu?