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Stripey socks give fly protection to Italian donkeys

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Donations to the Donkey Sanctuary offer a new way of combating the irritation of biting insects

The Italian branch of international animal welfare charity the Donkey Sanctuary has put out an appeal for donations of stripey socks. Il Rifugio degli Asinelli based in the Biellesi Prealps, is home to more than 100 rescue donkeys, and the unusual appeal for socks has gone viral on social media. This new look is not a fashion statement, however, as recent research suggests that flies and other biting insects are repelled more effectively by striped patterns than by plain colours.

The idea behind the sock donations was to help protect the donkeys’ legs from biting insects over the summer. Fundraising Officer Ilaria Ruzza said: “We needed long socks. It didn’t matter if they were new or used, as long as they were clean, in good condition and were black (or grey) and white, over-the-knee socks.”

Ilaria posted her request on social media and, within a week, it had reached 90,000 people, leading to 180 pairs of socks and more than €600   being donated to the sanctuary. Ilaria said: “By using social media we were able to reach our supporters across the country really quickly. We were also able to share our mission of protecting donkeys and promoting their welfare in Italy to an entirely new audience of potential supporters, thanks in part to the post being shared and ‘liked’ so much.”

Now this new look is being trialled closer to home, as a Donkey Sanctuary herd in Devon has been spotted wearing the stripey-patterned leggings. Over the summer months, grooms at the sanctuary kitted out a few of their donkeys with the leggings as a way of combating the irritation of biting insects, and it was so successful that sanctuary volunteers and staff are now looking to take this idea even further by designing leggings that can be attached to the donkeys’ fly rugs, with the aim of then providing those individuals particularly susceptible to flies with total protection.

For more about The Donkey Sanctuary, visit thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk

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