8
May 2012
Waikato Farming Lifestyles
s y e k n o d d e z i s t n i P
l a e p p a e g u h d hol
by Annette Lambly-Robinson
The affection for her donkeys is obvious in Beth McVerry’s voice whenever she is asked about her four-legged friends. Former dairy goat farmers the McVerry’s moved to a 12-acre lifestyle block on the outskirts of Cambridge about 11 years ago. Beth had grown up around horses, but had always had a special affection for donkeys. Her parents had kept one as company for stud charolais show cattle when she was young and as a child she had loved hitching him to a buggy and going for a ride. When the couple’s older of four children starting leaving home Beth felt she had a little more time on her hands to indulge in one or two passions of her own and the Mediterranean miniature donkeys had captured her heart. “Apart from the fact they are so very cute, they
are also a little different to other donkeys and being different appeals to me, said Beth. (She also keeps various breeds of Galloway cattle — but that is another story). First introduced to New Zealand in 1997 there are only 130 registered purebred Mediterranean donkeys nationwide. Since all these (and most registered stock in the world) originated from America they are commonly referred to AMMDs — American Mediterranean Miniature Donkeys. Miniature donkeys originated in the Mediterranean area of Northern Africa before migrating to the islands of Sicily and Sardinia off the west coast of Italy.
Short, stocky with a round “ rumps and a smaller head than their larger counterparts, they are sure-footed, good foragers, loyal and very affectionate
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