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Residents press Board for answers on burro removals and animal care after transfers to Donkey Land
Summary
Multiple residents and sanctuary operators urged the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors to clarify animal-care responsibilities and transparency around the removal and transfer of wild burros in county canyons and valleys.
Repeated public comments at the Board of Supervisors meeting focused on concerns for wild burros (donkeys) in multiple canyons and valleys in San Bernardino County.
Speakers said residents have encountered apparent declines in local burro populations and inconsistent county responses when callers report injured or orphaned animals. Several speakers asked the county to coordinate with nonprofit sanctuaries — including Donkey Land and Grateful Heart Animal Sanctuary — and to adopt humane, practical measures such as targeted sterilization and better on-call response protocols.
Juliana Moreau, founder of Grateful Heart Animal Sanctuary in Big Bear City, said residents have been told by county animal-care staff that “if we come up to get the burro, it will be euthanized. We just let nature take its course.” Moreau said residents have received that guidance repeatedly and that the absence of more robust response channels leaves sick, injured and orphaned burros with no help.
Other commenters described encounters they said were alarming or threatening while searching for missing burros and alleged the presence of trailers and vehicles with out-of-state plates involved in burro removals. Patricia Sierra described a January incident in which she said men with lifted trucks and trailers with Texas plates followed and questioned her in a field where burros had once gathered; she and others asked why removals occurred and whether the county had authorized transfers off local lands.
Speakers asked the board to: (1) provide clear contact information and response protocols for injured or orphaned burros; (2) clarify what, if any, agreements exist with private sanctuaries such as Donkey Land; (3) consider humane herd-management options such as sterilization; and (4) investigate whether county animal-care or code-enforcement responses have been adequate. Several speakers said they would continue to press county officials until they received answers.
There was no formal action recorded on burro policy in the transcript. The meeting adjourned with the board noting the public comments and the next meeting date.
