The challenging work of the permanent donkeys in Mardin.

The permanent donkeys employed by Mardin Artuklu Municipality are forced to work under difficult conditions.

At certain hours of the day, the donkeys are used to collect garbage in the narrow streets of Mardin, carrying heavy loads. Animal lover Melek Karahan stated that, as far as she knows, garbage was collected with 3 donkeys in old Mardin, and these donkeys are overloaded. Karahan, who has been fighting for this issue for years, said, “The solution should no longer involve donkeys. What century are we living in? The cruelty and suffering of animals must end. Just as people can carry their food home in bags, they can also take down their garbage. This should be the responsibility of the people. I have thought of many things regarding this issue. These are permanent donkeys, but instead of making them carry garbage, if a small budget is allocated to families and they are asked to take down their own garbage, there would be no need for the transportation of donkeys. Or there could be specific points in Mardin. The donkeys could be loaded from a starting point and carry the load until the final point. Let the donkeys carry, but without excessive loads and from specific points. And these donkeys should be well taken care of,” she said.

Karahan emphasized that the authorities need to find a solution as soon as possible, stating, “We think these donkeys are old or exhausted because they appear so. I have been doing everything I can for years, but the authorities also need to take action on this as soon as possible. What century are we in? This is not suitable for us. This is simply cruelty to animals.”

Garbage is being collected with donkeys in the narrow streets of old Mardin by the Artuklu Municipality. The garbage collected in the narrow streets with the municipality’s permanent donkeys is loaded onto the backs of the donkeys and taken to the garbage collection area.