Before sharing a post found on Facebook...
Posted on 8 November 2017."I'm forwarding you this post found on Facebook, please help this donkey or he will be send to slaughterhouse". "I received this message on WhatsApp, a milk farm is selling 15 foals, please take them". "I saw the picture of this donkey on a contact's timeline, do something!".
These are some of the typical messages we receive sharing posts or links about donkeys. We are afraid to tell that often they do not help animals at all. Let us explain why.
First of all, please keep in mind that Italial law is clear: if you find a donkey or any other animal in need, you must contact authorities and make an official report, which a Facebook post is not.
We are also available to help, and you can find hints and info in this section.
Then: in most cases, these shared posts do not contain any of the infos needed in order to help. They concentrate on urgency and emotions, but do not include any useful details - a place, a contact, a date - and sometimes they refer to years before. They just have come to "a new virtual life" after some shares.
Often, they are also a hoax, and actually the animals do not exist (we found pictures taken on the web, with nothing to do with the appeals they went with).
Even if many think that sharing is caring, actually not always is. Sharing fake news distracts from real urgencies and sometimes happened that a message about a real donkey in real need was almost hidden by the same hoax shared dozens of time.
So please: before sharing a post found on Facebook, take the time to check and be sure that it is true. This is the only way to help for real.