Meet Mark Meyers, the founder of Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue (PVDR), who leads the world's largest donkey rescue organization in the world.  He was listed as a 2019 Top Ten CNN Hero and manages his own film production company called Peaceful Valley Productions, used to educate the community about wild burros and the environment. Mark has dedicated his life to bringing awareness to an extremely misunderstood animal. Despite the historical fallacious beliefs and misconceptions plaguing donkeys, they are extremely intelligent, loving creatures with extraordinarily close social bonds to both animals and humans alike. He will share true stories of perseverance and resilience, proving that a donkey is one of the best animals around who will touch and enrich your life in a way you never thought was possible.

Because Mark rescues donkeys in the United States and internationally, you will learn about the mass slaughter of donkeys in the region of Australia called The Kimberley, where he filmed a documentary called "Without a Voice" to draw international attention to this senseless act. As a result of the eradication of millions of donkeys and other megafauna, Australia erupted in sweeping fires that destroyed far-reaching areas, which placed many animals on the endangered species list. You will get a closer look at this Australian government's massive undertaking to remove these creatures and the "Judas Method" they employed to catch their wild burro population. This eradication began just several years ago and is still going on today. Because Australia is home to 70% of the world's wild burro population, grasping the significance of this story and the resulting consequences will leave you breathless.

Mark also shares how he carried out another rescue mission in Hawaii, where he transported 120 donkeys via plane to California. He also collaborates with the federal government on various projects for the protection and conservation of wild burros. These include private ranches along the Mexican border, The Mohave National Preserve, Death Valley National Park, The BLM Sale Burro Project, NASA, and the US Army.  He will give us a glimpse of how he rescues donkeys in the wild and the way they are processed, vetted and rehabilitated.  All animals are branded via a painless method called "freeze branding", which is used to keep tabs on the animal, along with a microchip and ear tag. (A video demonstration of freeze branding is provided on in this episode and on PVDR's main website).  He even goes as far as to fit two donkeys with prosthetic legs to save their lives.

PVDR is a non-profit (501c3) organization and is accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries. This rescue has been operating for 21 years and currently has over 3,000 donkeys under its care distributed throughout 75 locations in America and the Caribbean. Please share in this mission to rescue the wild burro population by DONATING to PVDR at:

DONATIONS:  www.donkeyrescue.org

You can also watch the documentary, "Without a Voice" on the main rescue page or with the link below:

www.withoutavoice.movie