On the donkey farm, they are celebrating their birthday at work, and the vaccine has arrived

The founder of the donkey farm in Martinići, Darko Saveljić, planned a big event for the farm's fifth birthday. Instead, today, and every day since the start of the coronavirus epidemic, there is work on the farm - they used the crisis to rebuild the space on the farm.

"We took a brush, a nail and a hammer and renovated the building," Saveljić told "Vijesti". The corona crisis on the farm, which has recorded more than 70 visits in the past five years, was also felt by the donkeys.

"They haven't tried carrots and apples for two months, and they're used to at least one good meal on Sundays." They are used to the fact that every stranger who enters the property brings them something, so they start stealing," says Darko.

The donkey farm, under regular circumstances, is open on Sundays for visits, and each guest brings a kilo of apples or carrots for the donkeys instead of an entrance fee. There are no visitors these days on the farm, it is quiet, but they are noticing a small baby boom.

"We got a dozen new donkeys. Unlike last year when they were mostly male, this year donkeys dominate. We also got one called Vakcina. "Judging by how slow it grows and how big it is, the corona vaccine will not come quickly," says Darko.

Saveljić founded the donkey farm in 2015 with the desire to protect this animal, which is part of the natural and cultural heritage of Montenegro, from extinction.

"The donkey was also the greatest ally in the difficult life in the Montenegrin countryside. Until about thirty years ago, there was no house in the rugged part of the country that did not have a donkey for various needs. Today, they lost the battle with the machines, people left the villages, so the donkey lost its role as an animal and became one of the most endangered animal species in the country," he says.

He adds that since the establishment of the farm five years ago, a lot has changed.

"What is especially important to us is that we restored the donkey's dignity as the greatest ally in the difficult life in the Montenegrin countryside. And that we changed the lives of hundreds of people with donkey milk. To tell someone today that he is a donkey, and bearing in mind how our people live, means that he can eat and drink as much as he wants, that he has freedom, that no one beats him, abuses or exploits him in any way, that not a drop falls on him rains (because donkeys don't like her), that she has veterinary, dental, obstetric care... And that she has no problems in life. If you find a man in the country living under these conditions - let us know, we will close the farm out of shame that we didn't succeed," he says.

Saveljić says that he is encouraged because many young farmers came to the farm, asked for advice...

"People are turning to the village, young people in particular, they want to start their own business, production. The state should pay attention to these people, we can have airlines, aluminum plants..., but without agricultural production, especially in situations when borders are closed, and this will become more and more frequent, we cannot count on a bright future. The World Food Program (FAO) has already warned that this year will be a crisis, and certain items will be in deficit," he says.

Saveljić is an ornithologist and the founder of the Center for the Protection and Study of Birds (CZIP).

"They thought I was crazy in 2000 when I said that birds are important and that they would bring tourists to Montenegro. Few people believed in that story in a conservative society focused on traditional values ​​and - shooting birds. Today, Montenegro is a tourist destination and thousands of people come to watch them," he says.

He adds, it was the same with the farm.

"Until the opening of the farm, the donkey was not an animal to be respected, despite the fact that it was impossible to live without it in the villages. When I started the farm, it sounded silly to a lot of people. It's nice, then, that people in a village where there is no asphalt come to see an animal with which they shared parts of the house until recently... And today some of them are openly envious of me. I don't care what the mice are talking about, they would say in Bosnia," says Saveljić.

Even today, there are no more than 150 donkeys in Montenegro, and a third of them are on the farm in Martinići.

Thanks to the farm, the price of donkeys has also increased. Just five years ago, a donkey could be bought for 25 euros at the Livestock Market in Podgorica, mostly bought by hunters who fed donkey meat to their dogs. Today, says Darko, a donkey cannot be bought for less than 200, 250 euros.

"We completely succeeded in the mission of protecting the donkey".

Last summer, the first Donkey Museum in the region with a Visitor Center was opened on the farm.