Donkey Sanctuary mourns Founder
Dr Svendsen founded the charity in 1969 out of her deep love and compassion for abused, neglected and abandoned donkeys. This stemmed from finding seven donkeys in a terribly poor state crammed in a small pen at Exeter market.
For over 40 years, her tireless devotion and labours has seen The Donkey Sanctuary help over 14,500 donkeys and mules and provide them with lifelong care and love.
The Donkey Sanctuary Chief Executive said:
“The loss of Dr Svendsen will be felt deeply by her staff who loved her dearly, as well as Donkey Sanctuary supporters all over the world. Her son Paul and granddaughter Dawn remain deeply involved with The Donkey Sanctuary’s work and our heart goes out to them at this devastating time. The charity that Dr Svendsen built from nothing to the international organisation it is today, will continue its work in her memory, holding fast to her vision of a world in which every donkey and mule receives the care and respect it so needs."
In addition to her donkey welfare work, Dr Svendsen was a passionate advocate for riding therapy for children with special needs. She established The Elisabeth Svendsen Trust for Children and Donkeys, a charity giving children with special needs the opportunity to have contact with and ride donkeys at six purpose-built centres throughout the UK, most recently at our Belfast centre which opened just a few days ago.
Dr Svendsen died peacefully on Wednesday 11th May 2011 after a stroke with family and her lifelong friend June Evers by her bedside. She was 81 years old.
The BSAVA has opened submissions for the BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026.
