Kurdistan Zoroastrian Rep. calls on US to help treat injured donkey

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An injured donkey in the autonomous Kurdistan Region has attracted the sympathy of many animal lovers through social media networks, prompting a religious minority representative to call on the US Consulate General in Erbil to help to transfer the donkey to the US for proper medical treatment.

Footage and pictures of the injured donkey in Sulaimani spread across Facebook, with the donkey exhibiting great difficulty walking as one of its legs had been broken.

Awat Husamuldeen, the representative for Zoroastrians in the Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and an animal rights activist, was one of the first to visit the donkey.

“It was a shock to me when I arrived,” Husamuldeen told Kurdistan 24 on Saturday, standing by the donkey.

“When I arrived, I saw the donkey was left outside in the rain, shivering. I have sent a letter to the US Consulate General in Erbil asking them to take the donkey to the US for medical treatment as Americans are known for caring about animals in general. The donkey is also the symbol of the Democratic party in the US.” 

It is not known how the beast’s leg was broken, but locals believe it might have been the result of a hit and run.

Omar Klol, the former Secretary-General of the now-defunct Donkeys’ Party in the autonomous Kurdistan Region, expressed his concerns to Kurdistan 24 stating he would have been able to prevent donkeys in the country from suffering had the local government offered him a plot of land.

“I would have gathered and adopted all donkeys across the Kurdistan Region and Iraq,” Klol said.

Masoud Babasheikh, a local veterinarian, explained to Kurdistan 24 that donkey’s leg was most likely broken in a car accident, adding the injured animal requires treatment abroad.

Editing by Nadia Riva

(Additional reporting by Diyar Jamal)