Department of Correction and Rehabilitation Assists Ailing Animals

Press Release

From the

Department of Correction and Rehabilitation

#GrandTurk, Turks and Caicos Islands, 21 April 2024 – Working with the Department of Agriculture and community volunteers, this week saw the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation receive four badly injured donkeys in need of specific care and a safe place to live whilst they recover.

All four donkeys had items stuck on their hoofs or over their ankles, causing serious mobility issues, which of course impacts of their ability to feed and move around to find food.

Superintendent Michael Woodbine said, before coming to the Turks and Caicos Islands, I had read and heard about the donkey population, and was already thinking that there must be a role for the prison to play in caring and looking after donkeys, especially if injured or unwell, so the setting up of what we are calling, “our donkey Hospital” is incredibly pleasing to see.

The prison farm is a wonderful facility and the team of farm staff and workers provide excellent care to the livestock living there. The farm already sells eggs and vegetables to members of the community, and this is another example of our facility supporting the local community and local good causes.

Helping look after ill and injured donkeys is absolutely the right thing for us to be doing. Not only is this good for the donkeys, but it’s great for the people that work on the farm and live in the wider prison. Developing a sense of empathy and building bonds with animals is well documented in supporting changes in people moods, outlook and behavior. Having donkeys here in need of care and help really does offer offenders a different perspective on building bonds, which is most probably better than may have previously experienced.

Once settled in we have seen community volunteers, some of our prisoners, staff and prison mangers working with the Dr Bent in capturing and treating the donkeys in our care. It was great to see how many people wanted to help and get involved. I truly believe the donkeys themselves have released we are here to help them, and they are starting to interact with the team.

In addition to the soft skills this initiative brings, we are also looking to train our prisoners in Donkey husbandry, such as caring for donkey’s fur, knowing what to feed them and farrier skills to ensure their hoofs are well maintained. These will be transferable skills, which we hope will help prisoners prepare for life after custody.