Baby donkey stolen from Hampshire farm weeks after birth has been found and reunited with her mum

A mini-donkey which was stolen from a field has been reunited with her mum two weeks after she went missing.

Moon was born in early March to mum Astra, but she was then reported as stolen from Miller's Ark farm in Hook, Hampshire, on 15 May, when her owners found she had vanished in broad daylight.

Owner Elizabeth Miller revealed on the farm Facebook page that Thames Valley Police found the tiny donkey in Buckinghamshire yesterday (31 May). She wrote: "Yesterday evening we travelled to Buckinghamshire, liaised with Thames Valley Police and have recovered little Moon. We are beyond thrilled and Mum and foal are finally back together."

She also said that Moon was healthy and doing well, but would need some time to get reacquainted with her mum.

"Moon appears to be in good health, thank heaven, and we will make sure that Moon and her mum Astra get lots of love and care as they rediscover each other. It is because of all of you, amazing people, who have supported Moon, Astra and the team at Miller’s Ark, sharing this story far and wide - and now you have brought her home. A huge thank you to all streams of the media who spread the story further, Thames Valley Police for their quick response and Surrey and Hampshire Police for their work behind the scenes."

Alongside the statement, Miller posed a video of herself cuddling and kissing Moon. Miller looked overjoyed while Moon also appeared to be equally pleased and was wagging her tail.

Pamela Jessopp, of Millers Ark Animals, added: "We are beyond excited ecstatic. You always hold out hope but as the time frame and the time window got larger you do wonder if she would be found or not. It is so much down to members of the public, our supporters that have got the word out there and spread it on social media. It's been a heartfelt story that has caught people's emotions."

It has not been revealed how Moon came to be located, but Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said the farm had been given information from someone which they then acted on. They also said that they deployed officers to an address on White House Lane in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and Moon was subsequently found at 8.15pm.

Police Sergeant Stuart Ross, of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Countrywatch team, said: "This was a fantastic piece of joint working from Countrywatch and Thames Valley Police's Rural Task Force team. Our appeals to find Moon attracted countless calls and online reports from members of the public with possible sightings and potential lines of enquiry and we want to thank everyone who shared these appeals and got in touch with us.

"We have worked tirelessly to locate Moon, scouring CCTV footage to see if we could find her, so we are absolutely delighted about this positive outcome. Hampshire & the Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Country Watch team will continue with an investigation into the circumstances of the theft of this donkey."

Anyone with information about Moon's disappearance is asked to call 101 quoting reference 44230191581.