International animal welfare charity The Donkey Sanctuary is today celebrating as a new system of fines brings hope of improved conditions for donkeys and mules working as tourist taxis on the Greek island of Santorini. Andrew Judge, The Donkey Sanctuary’s Head of European Operations, explains:

“The new system of fines symbolises a real breakthrough in the recognition of animal welfare on the island. After years of campaigning, and working closely with SAWA (Santorini Animal Welfare Association) and the local authorities, we recently established a code of practice in the Municipality of Fira, setting out acceptable standards of animal welfare and ensuring that only animals fit enough to work are allowed to do so. It also sets out limits on the number of donkeys and mules an operator can hire out as tourist taxis on any one day. In September we were delighted to see this code of practice enforced by fines for those who were found not to comply with this legislation which protects the welfare of these hardworking animals.

It was back in 1986 that The Donkey Sanctuary was first made aware of a Festival that involved a donkey in the village of Villanueva de La Vera, Cáceres. Ever since then, and subsequently since the start of its Spanish Subsidiary El Refugio del Burrito so has this Spanish Registered Charity, The English Charity has been trying to stop the use of the donkey in a Festival that causes the animal great distress and sometimes, even physical injuries.

La Corrida de Elecciones is a ritual included in the carnival celebrations locally known as Peropalo. During this ritual, a donkey ridden by a man in disguise depicting the Peropalo, is practically dragged along the streets of the village amidst a drunken crowd that do not hesitate in firing guns too near the donkey and its rider. This ritual can take anything from one hour to two and a half, depending on the weather and the number of people attending the festival. The ordeal for the donkey is as terrible as obvious. He is usually so scared that he ends up falling down. The mob’s response is usually to get him up on its feet in any way they fancy. There has been cases where the donkey has been kicked, had its hair pulled and even been bitten by its rider.

On Tuesday 8th of March 2011, with the knowledge of both the Local Council and the government of Extremadura, a defenceless donkey will be condemned to be dragged, pushed and pulled through the streets of Villanueva de la Vera, a small town with no more than 2000 people. The donkey will be forced to endure, as part of a local ‘fiesta’, stress, violence and suffering.

This ceremony consists of a donkey being ridden through the streets by the drunkest man of the village. The ritual lasts approximately 1 hour and during this time the donkey is violently pushed and bullied through the streets. The poor animal is accompanied by a huge crowd with some people shooting guns and ringing cattle bells. In previous ceremonies, the donkey has been known to fall several times due to pure exhaustion and dragged back to his feet being forced to continue. On other occasions the donkey’s ears have been bitten causing it excruciating pain.

The following statement has been produced by The Donkey Sanctuary in response to the press coverage surrounding donkey cruelty in Russia.

Statement

We are absolutely shocked and appalled to learn that a donkey was made to parasail over a beach resort in Russia last week as part of an advertising publicity stunt.

The donkey was strapped to the parasail and catapulted into the sky and would have been severely distressed, fearful and traumatised during the 30-minute flight. Donkeys are sensitive creatures and prone to suffer with a fatal condition called hyperlipaemia (a stress-related illness); we therefore have serious concerns over the present health of this donkey.