The Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary was first established in 1987 to provide any donkey in distress or otherwise in need of care and attention, a safe and permanent home. The Sanctuary is based between Shanklin and Ventnor. Donkeys need a lot of care and attention. They need regular brushing, called grooming and their hooves trimmed by a farrier every six to eight weeks. In general donkeys are very placid, gentle creatures and respond best when they are treated kindly. They are very loyal creatures.

One of the most important programmes on the farm is worming, which happens four times per annum. Charlie Clarke, the farm manager, leads his team to worm 150 animals over a one week period. Different drugs are administered depending on the season the worming takes place. TVF funded the entire worming costs for 2010.