Editing Donkey (section)

== Uses ==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px" style="text-align:left; font-size:94%">
File:Skegness4web.jpg|Classic British seaside donkeys in [[Skegness]]
File:104 Donkeys in Tayrona Park Colombia.JPG|Pack donkeys in [[Tayrona National Natural Park]] in northern [[Colombia]]
File:Esel auf Ydra.jpg|Donkeys for transport on the island of [[Hydra (island)|Hydra]]
File:Uyghur man on his donkey cart. Kashgar.jpg|[[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] man on his donkey cart. [[Kashgar]]
File:Donkey Equus asinus Tanzania 1114 cropped Nevit.jpg|A donkey in [[Tanzania]].
</gallery>

The donkey has been used as a working animal for at least {{val|5,000}} years. Of the more than 40 million donkeys in the world, about 96% are in [[underdeveloped]] countries, where they are used principally as pack animals or for draught work in transport or agriculture. After human labour, the donkey is the cheapest form of agricultural power.<ref name=pearson/> They may also be ridden, or used for threshing, raising water, milling and other work.<ref name=aluja/> Some cultures that prohibit women from working with [[oxen]] in agriculture do not extend this taboo to donkeys.<ref name=ifad/>

In developed countries where their use as beasts of burden has disappeared, donkeys are used to sire mules, to guard [[sheep]],<ref name=IMH/><ref name=dohner/> for [[donkey rides]] for children or tourists, and as pets. Donkeys may be pastured or stabled with horses and ponies, and are thought to have a calming effect on nervous horses. If a donkey is introduced to a [[Mare (horse)|mare]] and [[foal]], the foal may turn to the donkey for support after it has been weaned from its mother.<ref name=ypte/>

In the United States, Canada, and Australia, donkeys are used as livestock guard animals for smaller livestock such as sheep.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Ontario |date=July 2020 |title=Guidelines for using donkeys as guard animals with sheep |url=https://www.ontario.ca/page/guidelines-using-donkeys-guard-animals-sheep}}</ref> When working as livestock guard animals, also called predator control animals or mobile flock protectors, donkeys will bray loudly and attack potential predators by kicking out with their front hooves.<ref name=":1" /> In 2019, donkeys comprised 14.2% of livestock guard animals in the United States.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Scasta |first1=J.D. |last2=Stewart |first2=W. |last3=Hutchinson |first3=E. |last4=Koepke |first4=K. |last5=de Mello Taveres Lima |first5=P. |last6=Laverell |first6=D.M. |last7=Kersh |first7=A. |last8=Stam |first8=B. |date=July 2024 |title=From Wild to Watchful: Integrating BLM Donkeys (Burros) for Sheep Ranch Protection |url=https://www.sheepusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SGRJ_V39_12-19_Scasta_7-24.pdf |journal=Sheep & Goat Research Journal |volume=39 |pages=12–19 |via=Sheep USA}}</ref>

A few donkeys are milked or raised [[donkey meat|for meat]].<ref name="starkey" /> Approximately 3.5 million donkeys and mules are slaughtered each year for meat worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QL|title=FAOSTAT|website=www.fao.org|access-date=2019-10-25|archive-date=2018-10-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030170521/http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QL|url-status=live}}</ref> In Italy, which has the highest consumption of equine meat in Europe and where donkey meat is the main ingredient of several regional dishes, about 1,000 donkeys were slaughtered in 2010, yielding approximately {{convert|100|tonnes}} of meat.<ref name="istat" /> [[Asses' milk]] may command good prices: the average price in Italy in 2009 was €15 per litre,<ref name="latte" /> and a price of €6 per 100 ml was reported from Croatia in 2008; it is used for soaps and cosmetics as well as dietary purposes. The niche markets for both milk and meat are expanding.<ref name="mon" /> In the past, donkey skin was used in the production of [[parchment]].<ref name="mon" /> In 2017, the UK based charity [[The Donkey Sanctuary]] estimated that 1.8 million skins were traded every year, but the demand could be as high as 10 million.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-41524710|title=Why are donkeys facing their 'biggest ever crisis'?|last=Leithead|first=Alastair|date=7 October 2017|work=BBC News|access-date=7 October 2017|archive-date=7 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007000404/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-41524710|url-status=live}}</ref> 

[[File:Henderson and the donkey.jpg|thumb|upright|Lt. Richard Alexander "Dick" Henderson using a donkey to carry a wounded soldier at the [[Battle of Gallipoli]]]]

In China, donkey meat is considered a delicacy with some restaurants specializing in such dishes, and [[Guo Li Zhuang]] restaurants offer the genitals of donkeys in dishes. [[Donkey-hide gelatin]] is produced by soaking and stewing the hide to make a traditional Chinese medicine product. [[Donkey-hide gelatin|Ejiao]], the gelatine produced by boiling donkey skins, can sell for up to $388 per kilogram, at October 2017 prices.<ref>{{cite book |last=Köhle|first=Natalie|chapter=Feasting on Donkey Skin|date=2018-04-09|title=China Story Yearbook 2017: Prosperity|publisher=ANU Press|doi=10.22459/csy.04.2018.05b|isbn=978-1-76046-202-4|doi-access=free}}</ref> 

===In warfare===
During World War I [[John Simpson Kirkpatrick]], a British stretcher bearer serving with the [[Australian and New Zealand Army Corps]], and Richard Alexander "Dick" Henderson of the [[New Zealand Medical Corps]] used donkeys to rescue wounded soldiers from the battlefield at [[Gallipoli Campaign|Gallipoli]].<ref name=anzac/><ref name=nzh/>

According to British food writer [[Matthew Fort]], donkeys were used in the [[Italian Army]]. The Mountain Fusiliers each had a donkey to [[pack animal|carry]] their gear, and in extreme circumstances the animal could be [[horsemeat|eaten]].<ref name=Vespa/>

Donkeys have also been used to carry explosives in conflicts that include the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|war in Afghanistan]] and others.<ref name=evans/><ref name=boaz/> In 2025 Donkeys were issued to Russian forces participating in the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|invasion of Ukraine]] to ferry supplies, with Russian officials stating logistical issues as the reason.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Loh |first1=Matthew |title=Russian troops are turning to donkeys for battlefield transport as the war approaches its 3-year mark |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-war-russia-donkeys-military-transport-ammo-logistics-2025-2 |access-date=12 February 2025 |work=Business Insider}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Russia forced to use donkeys to bring ammunition to troops in Ukraine |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/donkeys-russia-army-ukraine-ammo-b2695926.html |work=The Independent |date=11 February 2025 |language=en}}</ref>