There are over 44 million donkeys worldwide and many are suffering unimaginable abuse and neglect in the hands of their owners.
Unfortunately, a worryingly increasing number of such incidents has reportedly been linked to one of Greece’s most beautiful islands, Santorini.
Islanders have been using donkeys and mules as taxis for decades if not longer, as the caldera perched town of Thira is not easily approachable from the port.
Even though there is a double direction asphalted road for buses and cars, it is often congested with traffic whereas the picturesque ride on the cobblestone alternative is more popular amongst visitors.
With the unprecedented increase in tourist arrivals on the island over the past two years, so have increased cases of animal neglect and abuse. Voted the world’s number one popular island destination for 2017, Santorini’s success surpasses the municipal authorities’ ability to manage the tourist intake during peak periods.
Even though the port of Santorini put a limit on the visitors allowed on the island each day, that number is still too high to manage, especially when it comes to transportation.
For this year the Cycladic destination culled the number of cruise ships that can land and disembark passengers limiting visitors to 8,000 per day, down from over 12,000 in 2017 and 70,000 people in 2016.
Those day trips to the island have been the residents’ main source of income, with most cruise ships coming from the U.S., the U.K. and Russia.
Constant flow of people sees donkey ride demand sky-rocket
Christina Kaloudi, the founder of the Santorini Animal Welfare Association, said: “Donkeys are pretty much in work [all] year round. They are made to work in terrible conditions without adequate water, shelter or rest, and then I find them tied outside my shelter, barely alive.”
According to Kaloudi, during the summertime and especially in peak season, donkeys might make four or five journeys going up more than 500 steps from where the boats land, bringing tourists onto the island, to the main town of Fira.
“Over the years, as the weight of tourists has risen, the number of donkeys getting hurt has risen too,” Kaloudi said.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the charity Help the Santorini Donkeys complained to several media outlets that “obese and overweight tourists combined with the lack of shade and water, heat and cobbled steps is what’s causing such a problem.
“There should be a weight restriction. With donkeys it should be no more than eight stone, but how would that be imposed? It’s recommended animals carry no more than 20 percent of their body weight.”
As a result, some opportunists who jumped into the donkey and mule breeding industry as a means to increase their profit have now resort to using cross-bred mules,” as the donkeys just aren’t strong enough”.
Mules have the capacity to bear a larger weight, however, campaigners insist that the weight they are being asked to carry up steep hills under the scorching sun is “torture”.
Last week a shocking video showing men that profit from donkey rides attack a peaceful protest by animal welfare activists went viral.
In the video posted last Friday, the men verbally harass and seriously injure three women.
Konstantina Lyrou, a witness that recorded the incident said that one of the activists was a 15-year-old girl. The men are documented throwing the women’s belongings off the cliff, punching one and dragging another until her shoulder is dislocated.
International animal welfare organisation The Donkey Sanctuary has also visited the picturesque island documenting several cases of mistreated donkeys and mules due to lack of food and water, lack of rest, abuse, and injuries due to the weight and the ill-fitting saddles.
The organisation sent out a team of members to investigate the animals’ well-being and prepare a report while they also plan to demand that the Greek government takes action to ensure better conditions for the poor critters.
“Everything increases, including the volume of trash and water consumption,” Santorini Mayor Nikos Zorzos confirmed. “Over-exploitation will lead to environmental impoverishment, and the waste of natural resources will sap the island’s attraction.
“No more hotels, no more cars,” added Zorzos, who has appealed to the government to take measures to curb development on the island.
Watch a video documenting the conditions below: