Dozens of donkeys have been spotted raiding food waste bins in New Forest villages, scattering leftovers across roads and gardens.
The chaos follows a council scheme to roll out new recycling bins, but residents say they’ve become a magnet for hungry animals.
Locals are now being urged to use wheelie bin storages to secure their bins as fears grow over disease and damage to the local ecosystem.
Street buffets and bin mayhem
The trouble began earlier this month when New Forest District Council delivered new outdoor food recycling bins to thousands of households in villages including Brockenhurst, Lymington, and New Milton.
The bins – part of a £5.6 million environmental push – are meant to encourage residents to recycle food scraps, which are collected weekly and turned into energy.
But the bins, often left at the roadside the night before collection, have quickly become a feeding ground for the New Forest’s free-roaming donkeys. In Brockenhurst, residents say they’ve witnessed animals knocking over the bins, lifting lids with their snouts, and eating everything from bread crusts to chicken bones.
Gail Whitcher from Brockenhurst said in a Facebook post: "Please can people who live down Sway Road take their bins in and put their food waste bins inside their gates. The donkeys have knocked over the waste bins into the road and have had a feast all the way down the road on the food waste bins which I witnessed them opening. It's chaos."
Photos show entire herds of donkeys surrounding bins, pawing at the contents, with scraps spilled across the tarmac and plastic liners ripped apart.
Farming fears and disease risk
Local commoners (villagers with traditional rights to graze animals in the forest) say the scenes are more than just a mess. They’re a threat to animal health.
Andrew Parry-Norton, chairman of the New Forest Commoners Defence Association, said: “This is exactly what we feared would happen. These bins are attracting not just donkeys but ponies and, soon, pigs – and that could be catastrophic.”
Pigs are released into the forest in autumn as part of the traditional “pannage” season. If they eat contaminated food waste, farmers warn, it could spread diseases like African Swine Fever, which has devastated pig herds elsewhere in Europe.
Under UK law, it’s illegal to feed pigs kitchen waste for precisely that reason.
“If an outbreak happens, it could cost the farming industry millions,” Parry-Norton added. “These bins were designed for cities, not the open forest.”
Council urges vigilance amid donkey-bin chaos
In response to the growing concerns about donkeys getting into bins, New Forest District Council has been actively patrolling affected areas including Brockenhurst, East Boldre, Pilley, and Norley Wood.
A spokesperson said: "We’ve seen only a handful of incidents involving donkeys and bins across around 1,650 properties, and most food waste caddies have been correctly locked by residents – thank you for your cooperation."
The council has been working closely with local stakeholders, including the Commoners Defence Association, Forestry England, and the Verderers, to explore further measures. They added: "We’re listening to residents and will continue to monitor the situation while seeking additional ways to reduce the chance of animals accessing food waste."
Residents are reminded to:
- Present bins no earlier than 6pm the evening before collection and by 6am on collection day to reduce animal attraction,
- Ensure food waste caddies are locked using the handle,
- Only put food waste in the designated caddies, not in general waste bins,
- And report any incidents involving animals and bins on the council’s website.
The council thanked the community for their continued support during the rollout of the new waste and recycling service.
