"Ron King, who co-founded the 75-acre Oscar's Place ranch in Hopland in 2021 with Phil Selway, now leads a team of more than 20 full-time employees who take in donkeys surrendered by owners or headed to auctions to be butchered for their hides. So far, the nonprofit has saved more than 400 donkeys, rehoming them to vetted adopters or letting the animals live out their lives on the ranch and another recently acquired property in Potter Valley."
"King came up with the idea for the 17-episode series, airing Saturday mornings on ABC, after the nonprofit was featured in a CBS TV segment in 2023. King, who was let go from an executive position at Time Inc. in 2017 amid the media corporation's restructuring, first read about the animals' plight in a 2019 article on the British news site The Guardian about the donkey population being 'decimated' by demand for their hides to make a gelatin-based traditional Chinese medicine. That article and a TikTok video by a Bakersfield woman who rescues donkeys moved him to act, he said in a 2021 Press Democrat article."
"In a phone call Tuesday, King said that a 2021 article in The Press Democrat first generated widespread interest in his operation. After that story, other outlets, including The Washington Post and Oprah Daily, published pieces about Oscar's Place. The ranch received another boost in 2023 when a segment aired on 'CBS Mornings.' The coverage prompted a flood of donations, showing King the power of television to raise awareness and funds for his work."
Ron King shifted from a magazine executive role to lead a donkey sanctuary in Mendocino County. He co-founded the 75-acre Oscar's Place ranch in Hopland in 2021 with Phil Selway and manages a team of more than 20 full-time employees. The nonprofit rescues donkeys surrendered by owners or headed to auctions where they could be slaughtered for hides. Oscar's Place has saved over 400 donkeys, rehoming many and housing others on its Hopland ranch and a newly acquired Potter Valley property. King created a 17-episode ABC series, Donkey King, after national media coverage boosted donations and awareness.
Read at The Mercury News
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