[3] The Fariñeiro is not recognised by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, the Spanish ministry of agriculture, nor listed among the autochthonous Spanish animal breeds "in danger of extinction";[4] it is not among the breeds reported by Spain to DAD-IS.

[3] In 1999 a census of livestock by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística counted 14,649 donkeys in Galicia, the highest population of any Spanish autonomous community.

[7] A small number of the donkeys have been introduced to the island of A Toxa, in O Grove on the Atlantic coast, as part of a conservation and environmental reclamation project.

[8] The Fariñeiro is smaller than other mainland Spanish donkey breeds; it stands about 1.00-1.20 metres at the withers and weighs 120–180 kg.

The coat is fine, dense and smooth, of medium length; it is grey or pale brown in colour, and paler on the underparts.