A rural California community has been 'torn apart' after hundreds of beloved wild donkeys were rounded up and transported over 1,000 miles away.
The drama began in December when the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health contracted Texas-based nonprofit Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue to capture and relocate wild burros from Reche Canyon, a rural area tucked into the hills north of Moreno Valley in California's Inland Empire, as reported by SF Gate.
The dispute involves about 1,000 burros that roam Reche Canyon and neighboring San Timoteo Canyon - believed to be the largest population of wild donkeys in the state.
Each animal is a descendant of donkeys released by ranchers back in the 1950s.
Mark Meyers, executive director of Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue, was set to do a routine operation but it quickly turned into a feud that has created a war in the neighborhood.
The dispute has even led to death threats, conspiracy theories about secret housing developments, and a petition demanding the donkeys be driven back home to California.
'I'd never received a death threat until I started rescuing donkeys,' Meyers told the outlet.
Within two months, the planned three-year contract was abruptly terminated after furious backlash from local residents who view the burros as symbols of their rural California lifestyle.
Reche Canyon resident Mandy Miller, who with her husband launched a petition that gathered more than 13,000 signatures opposing the removal, has lived in the canyon for over 15 years and led the charge to stop what she saw as the unjust removal of the area's wild donkeys.
'It's burro country ... close to the city, but you feel like you're going on vacation when you get home.'
County officials claim the overwhelming number of donkeys near busy roadways and a major freight train corridor created serious safety hazards.
In 2021, six donkeys were killed when a train hit them in San Timoteo Canyon.
San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe defended the decision to remove the animals at a December board meeting.
'Countless burros are suffering and dying after wandering onto roadways and railroad tracks, after being injured themselves and encountering manmade objects such as fences. Burros in Reche Canyon and San Timeoteo Road endanger not only their own lives but the lives of the people that travel those roadways,'
But Miller argues that reducing the burro population won't address broader safety concerns.
'It's easier to blame the donkeys than fix the road,' she said.
Before the contract was terminated, Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue captured 256 donkeys over just three weeks.
Meyers claims the animals 'were in horrible shape', with plastic and metal objects stuck in their hooves and plastic in their manure.
But the backlash was intense.
Social media exploded with emotional posts, including one written from the perspective of a donkey that read: 'HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS ARE MISSING! MY WHOLE FAMILY IS GONE! I live in San Timoteo Canyon California and my entire family was trapped and loaded into trailers with Texas license plates!'
Wild conspiracy theories spread so rapidly that the county was forced to create an FAQ section on its website denying that the donkeys were being removed to make way for housing developments or being shipped out of the country for slaughter.
'The ignorance is exponential,' Meyers said. 'And I mean this in the nicest way, but these people did not know what they were talking about. They just were coaxing each other into a frenzy, and nothing they were posting was remotely true.'
On April 1, San Bernardino County entered a new agreement with Riverside County-based DonkeyLand to manage the remaining burros.
The local organization will rescue sick or injured animals and castrate 100 burros within the next year at a cost of $400 per animal to control the population.
But despite the compromise, some residents are still outraged about the 256 donkeys already shipped to Texas.
A new petition now is demanding Peaceful Valley return all the removed burros to California, and organizers are threatening to drive to Texas themselves to retrieve the animals.
'We will come and pick them up so you don't have to do anything except to say yes,' states the petition.
The petition says the donkeys would be brought to DonkeyLand and also claims one young burro nicknamed 'Tiny Red' was orphaned when Peaceful Valley picked up his mother, 'Big Red,' which the county denies.
Meyers remains adamant that not a single donkey will be returned.
'Peaceful Valley will not be returning any donkeys to San Bernardino County and we consider this issue closed,' a January statement reads.
He has refused to disclose exactly where the 256 burros ended up, due to concerns about threats against his staff or upset Inland Empire residents attempting to take the donkeys.
'Those donkeys won't be anywhere near Southern California,' he said.