From dying breed to grazing expats: in the port of Rotterdam, three Spanish donkeys bind the battle with the Duindoorn

Just along the A15, between Europoort and the Maasvlakte, is located in the middle of the Rotterdam port area of ​​the Geuzenbos. Above ground, the 29 -hectare area is ecologically maintained, underground is a pipe strip for moving oil, chemicals and gases. That strip must remain accessible in the case of a calamity, but the fast -growing sea buckthorn makes it difficult. That is why three Spanish donkey linen are grazing in the Geuzenbos: Fender, Bosun and Truus the tractor.

“Mi Querido, Mi Pequeño Mundo”says ecologist at the Rotterdam Port Authority, Lissethe Veenstra, gently to Truus, while it tickles between her large ears. “My favorite, my small world.” Truus may be an extremely Dutch name, Veenstra appeals to her in the language she knows better than Dutch anyway. “She is oldest and really the boss, the other two follow her where she goes.” While Truus is also the smallest by far. “She has dwarf growth,” says Veenstra.

In addition to industry, the port also has a lot of nature

The three donkeyins were continued Grazeland’s Rewildingwhich as a goal on its site mentions “restoring wild European landscapes with more biodiversity”, transferred from Northwest Spain. They are Zamorano-Leonés, named after the provinces of Zamora and León. “It’s an old race,” says Veenstra. Their thick, stiff, dark brown coat, makes them resistant to the elements. The almost white nose and fur around the eyes protrudes so strongly that they look a bit like bandits, just like raccoons. Easily, like all donkeys, but slightly tougher than the ordinary gray farm.

That matches their diet. Duindoorn has, as the name suggests, thorns. And no blunt. “Feel,” says Veenstra. “They can really poke through your pants. The higher they get, the harder the thorns.” But the Spanish donkey is used to the stiff, dry vegetation of its home country and prefers it above dry food. “That is why this breed is so suitable.”

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Nickelodeon

That was the thought before. There are also two taurosses in the Geuzenbos – a kind of reproduction of the extinct Oeros. “But they turned out not to love Duindoorn.”

So other grazers were attracted, who like the thorny and sour plant. Now the five animals share the area and that goes well beyond expectations. “This week we even saw them lying together.”

Yet the three donkeys mainly pull together. Grazing together, together in the shadow, asking attention from Veenstra together. “I visit them at least once a week, so they recognize me now.” Veenstra always wanted to do something with animals. “As a five -year -old I watched nature documentaries instead of Nickelodeon.”

How does an ecologist end up in the port area? “Two years ago I came across a vacancy. I was surprised too.” Veenstra was allowed to walk for a day and was inspired, she says. “The port has a lot of nature in addition to industry.” For example, she has a bird valley, for breeding sea birds, but also for the nightingale, spoonbill and buzzard. There is a “compensation area” with eighteen pools in front of the Backstreeppad. The Voorne Voorne Voornelta is visited by seals. And a week ago, half a million native flat oyster larvae were deported on the Second Maasvlakte, for more biodiversity.

“Economic progress is important, but should not be at the expense of nature,” it writes Port Authority on the site. Nevertheless, despite the commitment to ‘Nature and Biodiversity’, during the World Port Days last weekend activists from Extinction Rebellion ran a protest march against the company. Under the slogan “Reoper the harborThey acted against the largest and “most polluting” port of Europe. According to research platform Follow the Money the port is responsible for 20 percent Co₂-Moed in the Netherlands.

Agricultura

The Duindoorn, Braam and nettle are rumbling in the coastal area around the Geuzenbos: all three are nitrogen -loving plants. “Certainly the Duindoorn appears rapidly in the port area and grows up to one and a half meters per year,” says Veenstra. The donkeys will therefore not get hungry.

Whether the ‘new colleagues’ manage to control the dune bucket will be evaluated in a year to a year and a half. Veenstra: “We let them take all growth seasons. Then we will see if it works and if we want to extend their employment.”

From 1997 to 2007, according to the Spanish Minsterio de Agricultura, this Spanish donkey was ‘threatened with extinction’

Signs will soon be placed to let people know that they have to keep 25 meters away from the donkeys and to lines dogs. “That is for the safety of humans and animals.” And also, says Veenstra, the donkeys must be able to do their work. “I compare them with an assistance dog: they have a task here.”

Conversely, it is also nice for the donkeys that they have a place. From 1997 to 2007, according to the Spanish Minsterio de Agricultura, the Zamorano-Leonés was ‘threatened with extinction’. After focusing on restoring the species, the situation is now less dire with the donkeys. According to the latest figures, from 2020, the population worldwide involves around 1,500 animals – of which three are now walking around in Rotterdam.

Veenstra is more than proud. “If people ask me what I achieved in 2025, I can say that I have received three donkeys to the port area of ​​Rotterdam.”

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