A Cumbrian donkey sanctuary owner has launched a petition calling for DIY hoof trimming to be made illegal.
Barnhill Donkey Retreat, near Shap, has rescued and rehomed over 306 donkeys since it opened its doors in 2003.
While it helps donkeys that have faced all kinds of abuse – bad cases of DIY hoof trimming is a major problem the sanctuary constantly faces, it said.
It said it estimated that around 70 per cent of donkeys it rescued arrived crippled and deformed due to DIY trimming – which is legal in the UK.
Linda Gilbert, of the retreat, said that when DIY hoof trimming goes wrong, it leaves equine animals in agony, unable to walk properly and suffering.
She said: “We’ve got 18 donkeys in at the moment and out of the 18, we’ve got nine that have these problems.
“There is a saying we have on our website that is no foot, no horse and that is a very true saying.
“You can have a perfectly healthy animal that you have to put to sleep because somebody has hacked its foot off.
“Sometimes there’s no other option because they’re in so much pain.”
Under UK law, it is currently not illegal for people to perform DIY hoof trimming on horses, donkeys or mules.
It is only illegal for an unqualified person to put a shoe on any equine animal.
Linda said while a hoof might seem to the untrained eye like a human nail – it is actually the animal’s foot.
She added that when DIY trimming goes wrong, it is comparable to a human losing part of their foot.
Linda said: “Unlike our nail which is dead and doesn’t hurt to trim, their foot is not dead.
“But trimming is not unlawful and you can’t be prosecuted for doing it, it’s legalised cruelty.
“When you hack off the front of the foot, what happens is instead of the animal having a toe and putting its foot flat, it rocks back on the heel, because it has nothing to walk on.
“But when they walk on their heels, they then go through to the bone, because they’re constantly walking, so the heel ends up manky and ripped through.
“It causes so many problems.”
Some bad cases of DIY hoof trimming can take over a year to be fixed by a qualified farrier, she added.
Linda said: “We had a donkey that came to us and every two months for 14 months we’d take photos of her to show her progress.
“They had trimmed her feet so far back and badly, that all you could see was white lines of sinew and tenue, the whole lot was completely raw.
“This donkey had a huge hole in each of her feet, where they had been crushed and it had opened up the hoof.
“This is the reality of what is happening every day, but people aren’t turning their backs, they don’t even know it’s happening.”
On Friday, a donkey was also left tied to a front gate at the retreat in the early hours.
The donkey was found to be suffering with a hoof disease known as seedy toe and damage from DIY trimming.
Linda said: “When she puts her foot down, from the top of the hoof to the toe, there’s this big crack and when she puts weight on it, it opens the crack.
“They’ve hacked at both her feet as well, but she’s got seedy toe and they’ve obviously fiddled about with it and thought oh she’s no good, let’s just dump her.
“Not only do they arrive in pain, they also don’t know where they are but at the least, they brought her here.
“I just think somebody has to sit up and take responsibility for all of this.”
Hoof trimming is able to be done safely by qualified farriers and typically costs around £40 to £50 per animal.
While DIY trimming is not illegal, if a qualified farrier was to make a mistake while hoof trimming, they could be prosecuted.
Linda said she has launched the petition to close what she believes is a loophole in the law.
She added: “Equines are being crippled every day and are suffering unnecessary cruelty because anyone can trim their feet, this barbaric practice has to stop.
“It’s a loophole that stops people from being prosecuted for crippling them.
“If you put a shoe on wrong, the law and farrier council jumps up and down – rightly so, and that’s how it should be.
“But the law is turning a blind eye to these animals being crippled through DIY trimming.”
