Bam Animal Clinics-Uganda: April 2025 donkey welfare clinics
- Animal-Kind International
- May 9
- 3 min read
Our Partner Organization, Bam Animal Clinics-Uganda, held donkey welfare clinics during 3 days in April, entirely supported by AKI donors. They started in Mutushet Sub-county in Bukwo District, where donkeys are the main source of transportation and where Bam's free donkey vet clinics and humane saddle making training sessions were greatly appreciated by all.
As so much of Uganda's east and of "donkey country," the area is very rugged and it's difficult to reach with a vehicle. Poor roads, some only dirt trails, with fog and rain obscuring views, driving a vehicle can be hazardous!
In the picture below, you can see that at these elevations and at this relief, the only space that Bam could find to hold their donkey welfare clinics was on a road:
The Bam team first visited the local administration headquarters--a courtesy call is always a top requirement for a successful project. The staff said that they were the first group to visit the sub-county to help donkeys and they warmly welcomed the Bam team.
Bam's humane saddle making sessions start with a demonstration of how to make the saddles. After the demo, Bam provides the trainees with sisal sacks so they can make their own saddles with help from Bam trainers.
While the owners and their donkeys are gathered together for the humane saddle training, Bam also holds a free donkey veterinary clinic.
Because dogs are a part of donkey communities --they're the guards protecting donkeys against theft-- Bam is always ready to treat the dogs with rabies vaccinations, internal and external parasite prevention, and wound care. Most dogs seen by Bam in Mutushet Sub-County were undernourished and in generally poor condition.
Of course, Bam explains to dog owners that a stronger, healthier dog is a better guard. But the people who live in this area are so poor and often struggle to get sufficient food for themselves. In light of that, their dogs didn't look all that bad.
Next, the Bam team met with the District Veterinary Officer of Bukwo Distict to discuss how they can continue to work together to help more donkey communities to improve the welfare of their donkeys. Everyone acknowledged that local staff and farmers need training and that Bam's visit is a perfect start in raising awareness and spreading knowledge.
Next the Bam team was off to Chesower Sub-County where they again trained donkey owners to make and use humane saddles. Their training sessions always include discussions of other humane practices for working donkeys, including things like checking donkeys' hooves, good food, clean water, shelter. And as always, donkey owners were given a saddle to use for their own donkeys.
While in Chesower Sub-County, an injured donkey was brought to the Bam community vet clinic. The owner told the team that while transporting two bags of maize from his home to the market, the donkey was hit by a motorcycle and the donkey's hind leg was badly injured.
The owner said that he went to the local government vet, but he was unable to correct the leg and the donkey no longer uses it. The owner no longer uses the donkey for transport (which is a good thing!). But with this disability, the donkey is at risk from animal and human predators, including those involved in the illegal skin trade.
The Bam vets were unable to treat the donkey on-site. Possibly an xray is needed, which may be impossible to do in Uganda. But certainly a veterinary equine surgeon is needed along with specialized equipment, which Bam just didn't have available in the field. They hope to be able to follow up and help this donkey heal. And they may need some help from us.
