Donkey taxis

El Refugio del Burrito, with the help and support of The Donkey Sanctuary, fights hard to improve the welfare of the working donkey in Spain and performs a multiple approach to educate donkey owners, to train veterinaries and provide treatment to working donkeys, to make holiday makers aware of the situation and to enforce Municipalities to establish Codes of Practice to grant the welfare of donkeys. In Spain you can find some sort of donkey taxi in most of the touristic destinations, being the most known the Donkey Taxi in Mijas (Malaga).

Mijas Donkey Taxi

El Refugio del Burrito has an agreement with the Mijas Town-Hall to look after the conditions in which the donkeys at Mijas work as donkey-taxis. According to this agreement, El Refugio del Burrito gives assessment to the Town Hall and muleteers to improve the welfare standards and to provide a better service.

One of the initiatives is the redaction and approval of a Code of Practice for donkey taxi and carriage horses, but also to achieve the improvement of the facilities where the donkeys are kept during the day providing new sheds, new water trough, new drainage, pavement, access slope and hosing.

Educating the owners and improving donkeys’ health are also basic tasks. We have been carrying free vet checks and treatments for the last five years and the condition of donkeys has improved a lot and we have made owners aware of inadequate tack, teeth condition and hoof care among others.

A new Code of Practice is about to be approved and the Town Hall will be responsible to carry a yearly vet inspection and monitor welfare standards. Hence, we will not carry, anymore, free extensive vet checks and treatments but we will keep assessing the Town Hall and donkey owners to improve facilities and working donkey practices and we will keep carrying random welfare checks.

If you see any donkeys or mules during your holiday that you are worried about or if you have come across a large Donkey Taxi establishment not mentioned above, please do not hesitate to contact us.

To help you and your family decide whether or not to use such services, please answer the following questions.