Spain’s Donkey Firefighters: An Ancient Answer to a Modern Wildfire Crisis
In Catalonia, rescued donkeys are getting a second chance—while helping reduce the dry vegetation that can turn a spark into a disaster.
They do not wear helmets, carry hoses or ride in fire engines. They have four legs, long ears and remarkably healthy appetites.
Meet the donkey firefighters of Catalonia.
In the mountains around Tivissa, about 80 miles south of Barcelona, a nonprofit organization called Tivissa Donkey Firefighters is using rescued donkeys to help protect the landscape from wildfires.
The animals graze on dry grass and undergrowth—vegetation that can become highly flammable during Spain’s long, hot summers.
It is a simple idea, but one rooted in both science and centuries of experience: remove some of the fuel before a fire starts, and any blaze that follows may burn less intensely and spread less quickly.
From Three Donkeys to a Herd of 62
The project began with three rescued donkeys in 2020 and was formally established in 2021. Its founder, Joan Cedó Sans, is also the mayor of Tivissa. After seeing wildfires threaten land near his property, he wondered whether donkeys could help clear the thick vegetation.
They could—and they did.
Today, the organization cares for 62 rescued donkeys and moves members of the herd across public and private land in southern Catalonia.
Their job is not to confront flames. It is to work before the emergency begins, steadily eating and trampling the vegetation that helps fire travel.
The approach is especially timely. Spain entered the summer of 2026 facing another severe fire season, including the deadly July wildfire near Los Gallardos in Almería. That fire killed 13 people and burned roughly 7,000 hectares, or more than 17,000 acres, according to Reuters and the European Union Space Programme.
How Grazing Can Slow a Wildfire
Dry summer grasses are often described by fire experts as “fine fuels.” They ignite easily and can carry flames rapidly across the land.
Jordi Bartolomé Filella, a professor and herbivore-ecology researcher at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, explains that donkeys naturally consume these grasses.
Their weight also makes a difference. As they walk, they trample and break up layers of dry vegetation. The paths they create can help separate connected fuels, maintain firebreaks and give firefighters routes for carrying equipment or running hoses.
Donkeys are not the only grazing animals used for wildfire prevention. Goats are hired to clear fire-prone hillsides in California, while sheep and goats participate in Catalonia’s Ramats de Foc, or “Fire Flocks,” program.
Experts say mixed grazing can be especially effective because different animals consume different plants and work on different levels of the undergrowth.
Cedó believes donkeys bring particular advantages: they are heavier than goats and sheep, trample harder and can consume substantial amounts of rough vegetation.
A Second Chance for Abandoned Animals
The project is also a rescue mission.
Roberto, one of the herd’s earliest members, had been a racing donkey and was reportedly headed for slaughter after he was no longer considered competitive.
Paloma arrived dangerously overweight after being fed supermarket cookies and sugar cubes—food that was entirely unsuitable for her.
Now they live as part of a herd, graze in open country and receive supplemental food and veterinary care when needed. Animals once viewed as unwanted have become valued partners in protecting their community.
That may be the most powerful part of this story: damaged landscapes and mistreated animals are helping to heal one another.
An Old Practice Returns with New Urgency
For centuries, grazing animals helped keep Mediterranean grasslands and scrublands open. As rural populations declined and mechanical land management took over, vegetation accumulated in many areas, leaving more material available to burn.
Projects across Spain are now reviving grazing as part of modern fire prevention.
Rescued donkeys have worked around Doñana National Park since 2014, while wild horses have been reintroduced in Galicia to manage vegetation naturally. Ramats de Foc supports shepherds whose sheep and goats graze strategically important areas, with participating farms selling products under the project’s label.
The need is urgent. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service reported that EU wildfires produced just under 13 million tonnes of carbon emissions in 2025—the highest annual total in its record.
Not a Miracle Cure—but a Valuable Tool
No responsible expert claims that donkeys can prevent every wildfire.
Grazing cannot replace trained firefighters, controlled burns, forest management, emergency planning or public caution. It can, however, reduce the amount and continuity of combustible vegetation, potentially lowering a fire’s intensity and giving firefighters a better chance to contain it.
The donkey brigade reminds us that innovation does not always mean inventing something new. Sometimes it means recognizing the value of an old relationship between animals, people and the land—and putting it to work again.
For the rescued donkeys of Tivissa, it is a dignified second chance.
For Spain’s fire-threatened countryside, it may be one more line of defense.
Blogspot search description: In Catalonia, 62 rescued donkeys are eating and trampling dry vegetation to help reduce wildfire risk—giving ancient land management a modern purpose.
Suggested labels: Spain, Wildfires, Donkeys, Animal Rescue, Climate, Catalonia, Environment, Good News
YouTube caption: Meet Spain’s four-legged firefighters: rescued donkeys reducing wildfire fuel in the hills of Catalonia.
Thumbnail text: SPAIN’S DONKEY FIREFIGHTERS
Source note: This article accompanies a short news video based on reporting credited in the supplied transcript to India Today Global. Additional facts and spellings were checked against Tivissa Donkey Firefighters, Copernicus, Reuters, the European Union Space Programme and Ramats de Foc.
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