ALTERNATIVE (THERAPY DONKEYS), COUNTY DOWN, NORTHERN IRELAND: Donkeys are Robert’s passion. He acquired his first donkey at the age of one and now owns 26, using them for therapeutic work in hospitals, care homes and on his 15-acre (6-hectare) farm, 28 miles south of Belfast. It’s a dramatic change of livestock for the farm, which previously kept dairy cows and sheep. Financial pressures forced Robert’s parents to sell their animals in 2000, so Robert decided to give the farm a new lease of life as an Activity Farm, keeping donkeys, along with a few goats, sheep, hens, geese and ducks.

As well as being used for therapy, the donkeys are rented out for films and weddings. At the latter, the donkeys are often used as “beer burros”, carrying baskets of beer. In the past, donkeys were used to pull ploughs and work the fields, so Robert also uses his donkeys to tell the history of Irish farming. They’ve been his full-time occupation since 2023.

Robert’s love of donkeys goes back to when he was a baby in a pram and took an interest in the neighbour’s donkey Muffin. The neighbour gifted him Muffin for his first birthday, and by the age of seven, Robert owned seven donkeys, including a favourite called Denis which was thrown in with a pet pony. When he was ten, Robert dressed up and drove a donkey-drawn cart to agricultural shows, stopping at the sweetshop in Cultra on route. “It was cinnamon lozenges for Denis and brandy balls for me,” he says.

At the age of 11 Robert starred with Denis in a Christmas edition of Countryfile on BBC television. He was filmed escorting the local minister to a carol service in a donkey-drawn cart.

Roberth has acquired his donkeys through different means. He has been given some, and some he has bred on the farm. They graze on the farm’s own grass fields, with additional hay brought in.

Robert is keen to change the common perception of donkeys as animals in need of rescuing. “Donkeys are equines, like horses, but they don’t get the same recognition,” he says. “I want the donkey to be seen as an animal of value, on a par with horses, and in terms of livestock, on a level with cattle and sheep.”

He loves the donkey’s humility and gentleness. “Donkeys are incredibly emotionally intelligent,” he says. “This makes them the perfect animal to do care work with people who may be suffering from trauma or anxiety. They are naturally stoic which helps alleviate stress and I’ve seen them help a range of people from teenagers with emotional issues to adults with dementia. They help the second group by drawing out old memories, especially in people who have lived, worked and played alongside donkeys as children. I witnessed one woman being drawn out of her shell when Denis visited her dementia ward; memories of her childhood on the farm rushed back and she talked excitedly.”

Robert says he finds it difficult to call himself a farmer as he does not produce food, and observes that other farmers sometimes struggle to count him as one too. “However, I do carry out all the similar tasks associated with livestock farming and demonstrate arable farming with the donkeys and their traditional equipment,” he says.

He would not change his job for any other. “I love working with the animals, understanding and sharing my life with them,” he says. “They are honest with no other agenda and willing to work with you as long as you are kind to them. I love being outdoors too and working across the seasons, with just the sounds of wildlife and the animals.”