People own donkeys for a surprisingly wide range of reasons, from guarding livestock against predators to providing emotional therapy for people with psychiatric conditions. While many assume donkeys are just smaller, slower horses, they’re distinct animals with unique traits that make them valuable in ways horses often aren’t. The global donkey population has grown 19% since 1997 to over 50 million, reflecting steady demand across dozens of countries and use cases.
Guarding Livestock From Predators
One of the most common reasons people keep donkeys, especially in rural areas, is to protect sheep, goats, and cattle from predators. Donkeys have a natural, deep-seated hostility toward canines. When a donkey spots a coyote, stray dog, or fox near a flock, it will bray loudly, charge directly at the threat, and attempt to stomp or kick it. This isn’t trained behavior. It’s instinctive.
What makes donkeys effective guardians is that they can distinguish between familiar dogs and unfamiliar ones. A donkey that lives alongside farm dogs will accept them while still aggressively confronting strange dogs or wild canines that enter the pasture. A single donkey placed with a flock of sheep can dramatically reduce predation losses, making it a low-cost alternative to fencing upgrades or full-time human supervision. Many small-scale farmers and homesteaders choose a guardian donkey over a guardian dog because donkeys eat the same forage as the animals they protect.
Work and Transportation
Globally, donkeys remain essential working animals. An estimated 112 million working equids (horses, donkeys, and mules combined) support the livelihoods of roughly 600 million people, and that figure is likely an undercount. In parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, donkeys haul water, carry firewood, transport goods to market, and plow fields. They thrive in arid, rugged terrain where vehicles are impractical or unaffordable.
Donkeys are remarkably efficient for their size. They need less food and water than horses, tolerate heat better, and their hard, narrow hooves handle rocky ground with less risk of injury. For subsistence farmers, a single donkey can be the difference between economic survival and not, replacing hours of manual labor each day.
Breeding Mules
Crossing a male donkey with a female horse produces a mule, and mule breeding is a purpose unto itself. Mules display hybrid vigor: they inherit dense musculature from their donkey father, giving them greater strength and endurance than a horse of similar size, while also picking up the donkey’s steady temperament and surefootedness. Mules can carry heavier loads over rougher terrain than horses and are less prone to panic.
This combination makes mules prized for trail riding, packing in mountainous regions, and agricultural work. People who breed mules specifically keep donkey jacks (intact males) for this purpose, and high-quality breeding jacks can command significant prices.
Intelligence and Temperament
Donkeys have a reputation for stubbornness, but what looks like defiance is actually a survival strategy. When a horse encounters something frightening, it bolts. When a donkey encounters something unfamiliar, it stops, assesses, and decides whether the situation is safe before proceeding. Donkeys are analytical rather than reactive. They want to understand what they’re being asked to do before they do it.
This trait makes donkeys safer to work around in many situations. They’re less likely to spook and injure a handler, less likely to run blindly into a fence, and more predictable in their responses. For owners who take the time to build trust, donkeys become remarkably cooperative and affectionate. Their calm, deliberate nature is one reason many people simply prefer them as companions over horses.
Therapy and Emotional Support
Donkey-assisted therapy is a growing field, particularly for people with anxiety, depression, and autism spectrum disorder. Donkeys bring qualities to therapeutic settings that horses don’t. Their quiet nature and smaller size make them less intimidating. They tend to respect a person’s personal space, approaching gently rather than crowding, which is particularly useful for people who are afraid of animals or uncomfortable with physical contact.
The therapeutic interaction often involves grooming, walking alongside, or simply sitting near a donkey. The animal’s slow breathing and body warmth create a calming effect that researchers have compared to the comfort of parental care, where a person feels soothed and safe. Donkeys naturally seek contact with humans thanks to their docile, social disposition, and this willingness to engage without being pushy makes them well suited for people with psychiatric and cognitive-behavioral conditions. Research suggests donkeys are particularly effective for psychological and emotional rehabilitation, while horses tend to offer more benefits for physical and neurological conditions like balance and coordination.
Companionship and Social Bonds
Many people own donkeys simply because they enjoy their company. Donkeys are deeply social animals that form strong pair bonds, not just with other donkeys but with their human caretakers. They recognize individual people, respond to familiar voices, and actively seek out interaction.
This social nature does come with responsibilities. Donkeys kept alone can become depressed and withdrawn. Research on pair-bonding in domestic donkeys shows that separating bonded companions can cause extreme distress, leading to “pining,” loss of appetite, and in severe cases, a dangerous metabolic condition triggered by stress. For this reason, most experienced owners keep donkeys in pairs at minimum. A bonded pair of donkeys living together will groom each other, stand head-to-tail to swat flies off each other’s faces, and show visible distress if one is removed even temporarily.
Donkey Milk Production
Donkey milk is a niche but lucrative product. Its composition is closer to human breast milk than cow’s milk, making it a potential option for infants and children with cow’s milk allergies. Researchers have identified over 800 distinct proteins in donkey milk, many with antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. The whey protein fraction alone makes up 58% of the total protein content in mature milk.
The cosmetics industry has driven much of the commercial interest. Donkey milk is used in high-end skincare products for its moisturizing and skin-softening properties. One protein found in mature donkey milk, a type of collagen, has shown promise for preserving skin hydration, reducing pigmentation, and potentially protecting against UV damage. Donkey milk-based soaps, creams, and serums command premium prices in European and Asian markets, and small-scale donkey dairies have emerged to meet this demand.
What It Costs to Keep Donkeys
Donkeys are generally cheaper to maintain than horses because they evolved in harsh, food-scarce environments and are efficient at extracting nutrition from low-quality forage. Their primary diet is barley straw and rough grazing, not the rich hay and grain that horses require. Overfeeding a donkey is actually a more common problem than underfeeding one.
Ongoing costs still add up. Based on figures from The Donkey Sanctuary in the UK, keeping a pair of donkeys runs at least £4,000 per year (roughly $5,000). That breaks down into straw for feed and bedding (around 100 bales per donkey annually), hoof trimming every eight weeks, annual dental checkups, and routine vaccinations. Veterinary emergencies push costs higher. Donkeys are also long-lived animals, commonly reaching 25 to 35 years, so ownership is a multi-decade commitment.
Their longevity is both a draw and a consideration. People who bond with a donkey will have that companion for a very long time, but anyone acquiring a donkey needs to plan for decades of care, not just a few years.