Animal welfare groups have condemned the actions of children in Greece, who were videotaped racing on the back of donkeys.
The event took place in the village of Komi in Lesbos, with the video showing kids riding the donkeys and hitting them to run faster.
While the donkeys and children ran, vehicles drove by and adults could be heard laughing and cheering on.
Animal welfare organisation Kivotos Mytilene went public with the incident and said it was going to hand over audio-visual material they collected from the races to the Lesvos Police Department and the Lesvos Veterinary Department, in hopes for further action against the involved.
Local government official Heraklis Kountourellis spoke with Open Beyond TV, saying those responsible must and will be punished and called for the protection of the now ‘rare’ animal.
“It was a very sad event that does not express our local communities,” he said.
“We are sorry that parents were also involved.
“We will call on the local community to eliminate these phenomena, we will tell the school community to show special interest in the children of Komi so that they understand that animals are something we should not abuse and that they have rights.
“There are very few donkeys left because nowadays they are not used for work like they used to be. These must be the last ones in the area. They must receive special protection and because they are going to disappear we have a double obligation to take care of them.”
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ordered an investigation into the events to see if any animal rights or child neglect legislation was broken in the donkey race.
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