Every six months the Mijas Donkey Taxi fleet undergoes veterinary checks. "We verify that the animals are well-weighted, that they have no wounds, that their hooves are in good condition", says María Bros, veterinary surgeon of the British Foundation Mijas Donkey Movement, with which Mijas Town Hall has an agreement sealed in 2020, which aims to improve the service provided by these animals, ensure their welfare, and also promote a better, real and positive external projection of the service.

"We are talking about a close collaboration that in recent years has also resulted in the treatment or hoof shedding as well as donations of feed, especially important during the pandemic, in which the service was inactive," said the Councillor for Transport and Mobility, Nicolás Cruz (PSOE).  

 

In addition to passing through the work station, he also visits them in the stables and, once they have been examined, gives some recommendations for their care to their owners. Thanks to these veterinary checks, new measures have been introduced, improving the life quality of these noble animals. "The stables are visited to give recommendations on what should be changed to improve their animal welfare, such as changing the height of the hitches where they are providing the service or the installation of drinking places at these points so that they are more comfortable," says Bros, who says that "in general they are doing well".

The Town Council has been working with this foundation for three years. "We, at the Town Council, supervise these checks carried out by this foundation, which is external and independent of the Town Council, and which guarantees that they are impartial and faithful to the reality of the state of the donkeys that provide this service in the town", declared the Councillor for Transport and Mobility.

In addition, the government team has promoted different actions to ensure that the Donkey Taxi service in Mijas guarantees the welfare of its donkeys at all times. "Not only do we allow and collaborate with external entities with total transparency, but in the last three years from the Consistory, we have intensified all measures to ensure the animals' welfare and fight against any animal abuse. Promoting a new regulation includes the users' weight limitation or the minimum timetable, and rest times depending on the time of year," said Cruz.

Finally, the Department also reports that it is continuing to work on the project for a new stable, "which will eliminate the existing ones in the town centre and improve the conditions of those located in "La Muralla" area.

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