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Dedicated founder of the Donkey Sanctuary and its research centre
Elisabeth Svendsen, who has died aged 81, founded the Donkey Sanctuary, based near Sidmouth in Devon, in 1969. Since then, it has taken in 14,500 donkeys, housed on the sanctuary's 10 farms in the UK and Ireland or re-homed via its fostering scheme. No donkey is turned away and the sanctuary is currently caring for more than 5,000 animals. Svendsen believed that the donkey's reputation for stubbornness is entirely unfounded. "They are not stubborn, they are simply intelligent," she told me. "You can tell a horse what to do and force it to obey. But you have to negotiate with a donkey."
She also established the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust for Children and Donkeys (EST), a charity that gives disabled children and children with special needs the opportunity to meet donkeys and ride them, to develop physical ability, co-ordination, confidence and self-esteem. "I love donkeys and I love children, so I wanted to make the link," Svendsen explained. "When we first invited special needs children, the donkeys immediately understood the situation and were very patient. The teachers couldn't believe the results." Since the EST was launched in 1975, it has expanded to five centres across the UK; the sixth, in Belfast, is due to open on 23 June.
Daughter of Vincent and Ileene Knowles, Elisabeth was born in Elland, West Yorkshire, and was educated at St Mary's high school in Halifax and Brighouse grammar school. She taught at West Vale primary school in Halifax, then worked as company secretary in her father's pipeworks, WT Knowles & Sons, before marrying Niels Svendsen in 1954. She and her husband formed the Modern Equipment Company and developed the Nippy Nappy Drier, which was stocked by the London department stores Harrods and Heal's. The company was sold to Thorn Industries, where Svendsen served as a director until 1963. She then worked as a business consultant in a shipyard before starting a new venture as a hotelier in Ottery St Mary, Devon, in 1966.
Svendsen kept her first donkey, Naughty Face, as a pet. Distressed by the poor condition of the donkeys for sale at local markets in Exeter, she gradually acquired more and more, until she owned 38. In 1973, the year the Donkey Sanctuary was registered as a charity, Svendsen was bequeathed 204 animals by Violet Philpin, who had herself run a small donkey sanctuary near Reading, and donkey welfare became a full-time passion.
As well as sheltering abused or homeless donkeys, the sanctuary has a medical facility that has become an international centre of excellence. It has carried out important research into donkey physiology; the animals were formerly, incorrectly, treated by vets simply as smaller versions of the horse. Svendsen's concern for donkeys was international and the sanctuary runs 28 mobile clinics in countries including Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mexico and India, helping the animals and the families who rely on them. "The donkey has always helped man, in most parts of the world it still does, and it never asks for anything in exchange," Svendsen observed. "They are such humble little creatures, but they are extremely loving."
The entire organisation, one of the most successful charities in the UK and largest equine charities in the world, is funded by donations; Svendsen never applied for grants as she did not want to become reliant on them. Part of its secret lay in Svendsen's ability to make supporters feel part of the organisation. All donations, however small, are acknowledged and every legacy is followed up and the family informed how it will be used. Svendsen also kept an eye on costs. "We don't waste money producing glossy magazines or holding fundraising functions." This personal approach is reflected in the family-based structure of the organisation; Svendsen's son Paul is director of European operations and her granddaughter Dawn Vincent is communications manager.
Svendsen was appointed MBE in 1980. She was given an honorary doctorate in veterinary medicine and surgery in 1992 from the University of Glasgow, the RSPCA's Lord Erskine award in 2001 and, in 2009, the degree of doctor honoris causa by the University of Edinburgh. She also played a key role in setting up the Companion Animal Welfare Council, which advises on animal welfare legislation.
Her energy, enthusiasm and no-nonsense approach made a formidable combination. When I interviewed her, she was in her 70s, but arrived at work at the sanctuary at 7.30am each day, getting there before her staff. "I can't stay in bed in the morning after half past five," she said. She was known within the organisation as Dr S – or simply "Mother". She is survived by her children, Lise, Paul, Clive and Sarah, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
• Elisabeth Svendsen, animal welfare campaigner, born 23 January 1930; died 12 May 2011