MORENO VALLEY, Calif.—Residents of Moreno Valley are calling for a task force to investigate the killing of 21 wild donkeys, including 13 attacks this year.

More than 200 residents packed a town hall meeting at a local church on March 23 demanding an investigation into the mysterious attacks, including a donkey that was beheaded and another that was shot with an arrow.

A $50,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for these alleged cases of animal cruelty.

Meanwhile, debate continues about the cause of most injuries, which have occurred in both Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Chad Cheatham, vice-president of DonkeyLand Rescue, told The Epoch Times that although there is no proof domestic dogs are the culprits in many of the attacks, the wounds appear to be from canines.

“There’s been some necropsies done and DNA testing on some of the wounds,” he said.

Cheatham suspects the arrow attacks were committed intentionally by a “serial archer.”

“I say that because of the repeated types of arrows that were used, the broadhead arrows in areas that we rescued the donkeys,” he said.

But most of the attacks appear to be canine, Cheatham said.

DonkeyLand Rescue’s board of directors called the town hall meeting to bring local leaders, politicians, and law enforcement together with residents to coordinate efforts to solve the problem, he said.

“We kind of felt let down a little bit by the local agencies for not giving enough attention to some of the attacks that have been happening,” he said. “It was really good to have everybody together under one roof so we could get the different agencies cooperating.”

The wild burros have roamed Reche Canyon since the 1950s. The canyon is a semi-rural area spanning from Moreno Valley in the south to Colton in the northwestern foothills of Southern California’s San Jacinto Mountains.

“The community really loves them,” Cheatham said. “They’re part of the culture here.”

DonkleyLand Rescue’s burro orphanage and sanctuary are closed to the public, but the nonprofit organization offers some private tours, mainly for donors, he said.

“We have a healing facility for some of the burros that get injured,” he said. “We house approximately 600 burros inside our sanctuary right now that have been removed from private property lands and different areas where they seem to be getting in harm’s way.”

The organization, which has received support from the Bob Barker Foundation, will move burros that are at risk in certain neighborhoods or are too close to the freeway, for example, he said.

“We try to focus on the ones that need immediate help,” he said. “There’s a lot of burros that do roam deep back in the hills that are more skittish, and then there’s some that roam into the neighborhoods.”

His wife, Amber LeVonne, and her parents founded the organization in 2011 after caring for orphaned burros near their home.

“Before she came along, Animal Services didn’t really have the infrastructure or know what to do with an orphaned donkey or a hurt donkey,” he said.

“Amber,” he said, “started out photographing them, and she just has a special gift—a special relationship with the donkeys.”

Severely wounded burros are taken to the SoCal Equine Hospital in Norco for treatment, Cheatham said.

The Bureau of Land Management, responsible for the federal Wild Horse and Burro Program, doesn’t have jurisdiction over burros on private lands where most of the local donkeys roam, Cheatham said.

However, the burros are protected under animal cruelty laws, he said.

Lesley Huennekens, commander of field services for Riverside County’s department of animal services, told The Epoch Times that DNA testing has been done on the wounded donkeys, and the county is awaiting results from University of California, Davis.

The attacks are “awful,” she said.

Aside from a relatively small number of arrow attacks that happened several months ago, Huennekens believes domestic dogs are likely attacking the donkeys—not potential predators such as bears, mountain lions, and coyotes, she said.

The DNA test results will help to most likely rule out wildlife predators, she said.

The investigation is ongoing, but “we’re leaning in that direction,” she said, based on a veterinarian’s assessment.

Huennekens urged residents to report cases of dogs running loose and not to feed or water the donkeys.

Mary Martin, Riverside County animal services director, told The Epoch Times that DonkeyLand “has done an amazing job” raising funds to buy land to create safe havens for the burros and has worked “tirelessly” to rescue them.

Anyone with information on the attacks is urged to call the Riverside County Department of Animal Services.