It is a question that has vexed the finest academic minds of the past two millennia – but are donkeys and mules really that stubborn?

Are donkeys really stubborn?

Now a university has hitched its wagon to the debate in a two-day conference taking apart centuries of asinine conjecture about ‘donkey, mule and hinny cultures worldwide’.

Ben Hart of the Donkey Sanctuary posited the theory that ‘evolutionary histories of donkeys and mules’ had led to behaviour that has been misunderstood and contributed to the reputation for being stubborn.

‘The donkey’s behaviour is commonly misunderstood principally because their behaviour is compared to that of the horse, rather than viewed as a separate species,’ he said in Stubborn Donkey Or Smart Ass? at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.

‘By looking at the domesticated donkeys’ evolutionary niche and the behaviour of both free-living donkeys and domesticated donkeys, it is possible to explain the different behaviours of donkeys and to lay to rest their reputation for stubbornness and their misrepresentation as small horses with big ears.’

Donkeys have been associated with stubbornness since before Christ.  Ancient Greek epic poet Homer and fabulist Aesop labelled the creatures as ‘stupid, servile and stubborn’.