Finland faces donkey shortage under new animal welfare law

A new animal welfare law in Finland requires donkeys to have a companion of the same species, sparking a rush to import the animals as domestic supply falls short, state broadcaster Yle reports.

The law, which took effect at the start of the year, stipulates that donkeys must be kept with another donkey—horses or ponies no longer qualify as suitable companions. The regulation has revealed a shortage in Finland, with only a few hundred donkeys estimated to exist in the country.

By the end of July, Finland had imported 21 donkeys, compared to just 16 for all of last year. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has granted a two-year transition period and will allow donkeys to be kept alone for up to six months after that if a companion cannot be found.

Joona Immonen, a resident of Savonlinna, resorted to buying his two donkeys, Jin and Jang, from the Netherlands after failing to find any for sale in Finland. He sought healthy, social animals accustomed to human interaction and comfortable around children.

While rescued working donkeys from Southern Europe are available at lower cost, Immonen ruled them out due to the extensive training required to address past trauma. “You can’t completely erase those experiences,” he said.

Eläintenkouluttaja Maria Pirinen, who runs the Luonnos well-being farm where Immonen’s donkeys now live, questioned the strictness of the law. She noted that donkeys and ponies can share spaces, sleep together, and groom each other, suggesting they might fulfill each other’s social needs. The farm already houses a mule, a horse-donkey hybrid, but the law does not recognize mules as valid companions for donkeys.

Donkeys are distinct from horses, highly intelligent, and can live 30–40 years, though they struggle in cold, wet climates due to their origins in warm, dry regions.