Despite calls by community activists and concerned residents, there is still no task force Tuesday to investigate the killing of 21 donkeys in Riverside County since last year.
A meeting of about 200 people took place Monday night at a church in Riverside, where a dozen elected and law enforcement officials, along with medical experts faced community concerns and questions about the embattled burros, 13 of which have been attacked this year alone.
Some of the donkeys have been shot with arrows and one was beheaded.
“It’s not necessarily animal cruelty,” Lt. Leslie Hunnekens of the Riverside County Department of Animal Services told Fox11. “We don’t know that somebody is intentionally injuring the donkeys. It could be stray feral dogs.”
Either way, she said, “It’s horrific.”
Chad Cheatham, vice president of burro rescue sanctuary DonkeyLand, believes, as do many in the community, that based on the types of wounds inflicted upon the animals, the killings appear to be human-caused.
Abigail Ware, resident physician at Loma Linda Pathology, said the injuries “absolutely” looked intentional.
“If it was an animal, you would expect to see raggedy edges, but these are very clean surgical lines,” she said.
There is a $50,000 reward on offer for information leading to any human who has been attacking the donkeys.
In September, after at least six donkeys had been shot with arrows in Moreno Valley, DonkeyLand began asking for the public’s help identifying the suspect.
Workers at DonkeyLand, along with help from Moreno Valley Animal Services and the Riverside County Department of Animal Services, were able to capture an injured 2-year-old female wild donkey from a herd off Pigeon Pass Road. She was the sixth donkey shot with an arrow, according to a Facebook post by the sanctuary.
Thanks to help from animal activists, DonkeyLand itself was offering a $14,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for shooting the animals.
The rescued donkey was named “Cupid” by the sanctuary and was admitted to the SoCal Equine vet in Norco.
The arrow was lodged within her thoracic region, according to DonkeyLand.
According to DonkeyLand, the arrow passed through a small portion of Cupid’s right lung and was very close to puncturing her left lung. Officials said it was very painful for Cupid as the arrow was scraping against the underside of her shoulder blade every time she moved.
DonkeyLand donations can be made by visiting donkeyland.org/. Those wishing to donate toward the reward were encouraged to message the sanctuary through Facebook.
Any information about the suspect should be reported to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Moreno Valley station at 951-955-2400 or the Department of Animal Services at 951-358-7387.