Riverside County Department of Animal Services officials Tuesday confirmed that dogs trained for aggression are likely responsible for some of the recent attacks resulting in brutal and often fatal injuries to wild burros around Moreno Valley and Riverside.
“It’s domestic dogs,” agency Commander Lesley Huennekens told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. “Being in this career as long as I have, I’ve seen a lot. Dogs will get a hold of the front of the (donkey), and other dogs will grab the hind quarters. It doesn’t take a whole lot of force to do the kind of damage that we’re seeing.”
Huennekens was asked to speak on the matter by board Chair Karen Spiegel after she’d seen reports on Monday night’s community meeting hosted by the Riverside-based nonprofit DonkeyLand, which drew dozens of people to Sandals Church in Riverside, where speakers expressed outrage over the severe maltreatment of the burros.
Nearly two dozen attacks have been documented since last fall. In multiple instances, burros’ ears and tails were ripped to shreds; in other cases, their genitalia and other body parts were mangled. Most of the injured donkeys have been euthanized due to the extreme nature of the wounds.
“If the (perpetrators) are caught, they can be prosecuted?” Spiegel asked.
Huennekens said the suspects could be arrested for felony animal abuse if it can be proven “they’re bringing dogs into the area and using them to attack the donkeys.”
She further stated that the mere act of permitting canines to roam unleashed in the burros’ habitat could result in misdemeanor citations.
“Nobody has come forward to tell us anything (regarding suspects’ identities),” Huennekens said.
According to DonkeyLand, a total 21 wild burros have been targeted. Thirteen attacks have occurred in the last 10 weeks. Of the 21, only four have been successfully treated and saved.
In addition to the animal-on-animal bloodletting, six donkeys have been shot with arrows. However, the abuse of burros singled out for live target practice has occurred repeatedly over the past two decades, with no arrests.
A $50,000 community reward prompted by DonkeyLand’s call to action to stop the attacks refers to whoever is perpetrating them as “a serial killer.”
The burros number in the hundreds and congregate throughout Reche Canyon between Moreno Valley and Redlands, as well as everywhere around Box Springs Mountain in Moreno Valley and Riverside, freely wandering municipal streets.
Chad Cheatham, vice president of DonkeyLand, said during Monday night’s meeting that he was shocked to discover the “whole industry of trainers (using) dogs as bite protection dogs.”
The $50,000 reward will go to anyone who provides authorities with information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the party or parties responsible for the attacks.
More information is available at donkeyland.org/.
Anyone who may be able to help with the investigation was urged to call the Department of Animal Services at 951-358-7387, or the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department at 951-776-1099.