Croatia has just over 1,300 donkeys registered as livestock, but it is assumed that there are about 2,000 of them. Donkeys are a protected species in Croatia, and the state grants annual subsidies to farmers to raise them. There are three indigenous breeds: Istrian, Northern Adriatic and Dalmatian. To the impoverished common people, donkeys were the most useful animal for centuries, helping them carry heavy loads. But they also ate its meat, when there was no other meat to be found. And they have no peer in one aspect: the donkey’s milk has been the best-known folk remedy since time immemorial. It served as first aid in preserving immunity, especially from respiratory ailments. Today an increasing number of people are raising donkeys for their milk, and we visited one such farm in continental Croatia.

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