Public urged to help document UK’s animal statues and sculptures

Crowdsourcing project will ‘chart the country’s four-legged monument heritage’

Lifelike donkeys at the Animals in War memorial portray the animals’ weariness (Alamy Stock Photo)

On the edge of Hyde Park stands an arresting sight – two donkeys, burdened by the detritus of war, thin and exhausted, plod towards a stark stone wall. On the far side stand a bronze horse, head bowed, as if also worn out.

The heartrending sculptures symbolise the millions of animals used and killed in the wars and conflicts of the 20th century, including the 8 million horses, donkeys and mules that died in the First World War.

It took until 2004 to create the monument, but it will be a lasting reminder.