 Conservation efforts were begun by a number of public and private breeders and organizations, and by 2005 there were 450 purebred Poitou donkeys.The exact origins of the Poitou breed are unknown, but donkeys and their use in the breeding of mules may have been introduced to the Poitou region of France by the Roman Empire.The Baudet de Poitou and the "Mulassière" (mule breeder) horse breed (also known as the Poitevin) were developed together for the use of producing superior mules.