“The dark coloured female donkey is nothing but skin and bone; she is lying on the floor, she doesn’t move, and she has got open wounds on her back. When she tries to stand up, the dog bites her and the donkey yells in pain…” It was the desperate message sent to the NGO El Refugio del burrito in August 2015 about a donkey found in some facilities at Quart de Poblet, Valencia.

Today, 4th of October, coinciding with the World Animal Day, Rosie’s trial has been held in the Court of Valencia.

This week, more than 20,000 equines will participate in El Rocio, the largest pilgrimage in the Western world. The Donkey Sanctuary Spanish base, El Refugio del Burrito (ERB), in collaboration with Spanish authorities will put in place a 24 hour on the ground operation to ensure animal welfare during the event.

Not all the animals at El Rocio are abused, and there is some incredible horsemanship on display, but it is the rented animals that appear to suffer the most. Most of these animals are old, tired, undernourished, full of open wounds and rented non-stop. Such was the poor state of some animals that 9 of them have been confiscated.

The results of a shocking investigation by The Donkey Sanctuary reveals the devastating human impact of the growing demand for ejiao, a traditional Chinese medicine made from donkey skin.