Baby donkey found mutilated and dead, police seek witnesses

Police are looking for witnesses after a two-week-old miniature donkey was found mutilated and dead at an animal sanctuary in the Netherlands.

The baby donkey named Pleun was found dead in a field at Het Ezelpaleis, a donkey sanctuary in Baarle-Nassau, on Tuesday. People are being asked whether they saw suspicious people, vehicles or other unusual activity near Hoogstratensebaan 63 between 4:45 pm on Monday 7 September and 12:15 pm on Tuesday 8 September.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dutch police on 0900-8844.

Pleun had disappeared from a field behind the sanctuary on Monday evening. Staff and volunteers searched for her until around 1:30 am and continued looking the next morning.

Sanctuary owner Marlhene Mouws told Dutch broadcaster Omroep Brabant that she suddenly saw Pleun’s body at about 12:30 pm on Tuesday while showing two new donors around the sanctuary. She said the same area had already been searched earlier that day.

Pleun’s body was badly mutilated. Mouws said that the young donkey had a wound above her right hind leg. She said the wound appeared to pass through Pleun’s body and come out near her chest. Pleun also had injuries to her legs and eye.

Mouws believes Pleun was shot elsewhere and then placed back in the field.

The sanctuary initially believed that Pleun had been stolen. Mouws said the foal was less than 30 centimetres tall and would not normally leave her mother. Another young donkey in the same field remained there.

Her mother, Saar, became distressed after Pleun disappeared and had to be milked, according to the sanctuary. Pleun was still fully dependent on her mother’s milk.