Donkey sanctuary goes viral with sock appeal
Research has shown that stripes repel flies better than plain colours.
An appeal for donations of long socks for the residents of a donkey sanctuary in Italy has gone viral on social media.
The sanctuary, based around 50km north-east of Turin, is seeking the socks to help protect the donkeys’ legs from insect bites. In particular, the sanctuary wants striped socks as research has found that striped patterns are more effective at repelling flies than plain colours.
A social media post, created by fundraising officer Ilaria Ruzza, reached 90,000 people within a week. So far, 180 pairs of socks have been donated alongside €600.
The sanctuary, which is run by the Italian arm of The Donkey Sanctuary, is home to more than 100 donkeys.
Ms Ruzza 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.”
It’s not just in Italy that the charity uses socks to protect its donkeys. Over the last few months, some of the residents at the The Donkey Sanctuary’s site in Devon have been wearing long socks to ward off biting insects.
With the help of volunteers, staff at the Devon sanctuary are currently in the process of designing leggings for the donkeys that can be attached to their fly rugs to provide them with even more protection.
Image © The Donkey Sanctuary
BSAVA is to partner with BVA Live (11-12 June 2026) to champion clinical research.
