breed reported in geographic location Donkey, Ireland (Ass) https://www.fao.org/dad-is The domestic donkey's ancestors were wild asses from Africa. The African branch of the subgenus were found between the Mediterranean coast and the Sahara Desert to the south of the Red Sea. There were two separate subspecies: the Nubian wild ass and the Somali wild ass. The Asiatic branch of the subgenus came from a much larger area stretching from the Red Sea to Northern India and Tibet where the ass had to adapt to different climate, terrain and altitude. Consequently there is more than one subspecies of Asiatic wild ass. The further east the ass was found, the larger, heavier and stronger the animal became. Sadly some of these original subspecies are now extinct, due to loss of habitat, poaching and competition with domestic animals. Since 2005, EU regulations require that all equines are identified by a passport. Therefore, all donkeys in Ireland must have a passport issued by an approved organisation. Since 2005, the Irish Horse Board has issued over 1,200 passports to donkeys. Not all donkeys in Ireland are yet identified by a passport and therefore there is no accurate estimate as to the number of donkeys in the country. No record is kept of the pedigree donkeys. Donkey VBO:0001855 The concept of “breed reported in geographic location by FAO National Coordinators” is unique to DAD-IS (https://www.fao.org/dad-is/en/). This VBO term should therefore be used specifically for the breed conforming to this concept. domestic breed Ass breed Sabrina Toro