Video: Animal Rights Activists Attacked by Donkey Handlers on Santorini

Video: Animal Rights Activists Attacked by Donkey Handlers on Santorini

Santorini, Greece – Three PETA Germany supporters were assaulted by donkey handlers on Santorini’s Karavolades Steps last week while preparing to protest the exploitation of donkeys used as “tourist taxis”. Video footage shows the men punching one woman in the face, shoving other campaigners, forcing them down the steps, and tearing up protest signs.

The demonstration was part of PETA’s campaign to end the use of donkeys and mules for tourist rides on the island, where animals are forced to haul visitors up hundreds of steep steps in extreme heat. The activists planned to showcase robotic exoskeletons as a modern, animal-friendly alternative. PETA Germany will file criminal charges against the violent donkey handlers who attacked the animal rights activists.

© PETA Germany eV Photos and videos.

“The donkeys and mules exploited as ‘tourist taxis’ on Santorini endure a life of pain and suffering,” says biologist Dr. Yvonne Würz, PETA Germany’s expert on animals in the entertainment industry. “With modern alternatives like robotic legs and PETA’s offer to finance the first devices, Santorini could serve as a model against the exploitation of animals in tourism. We urge those in charge to seize this opportunity. Only a long-overdue ban on all donkey and mule rides on Santorini can end the animals’ suffering.”

Donkeys are affectionate, loyal and intelligent animals who can remember places, routes, other animals, and even people they have encountered years earlier. They form strong bonds and become very attached to companions.

In a letter to the mayor and the president of the port authority of Fira, the animal protection group offered to financially support the purchase of such exoskeletons for climbing the stairs if the donkey rides were to be discontinued. The concept is already being used in tourism. In China, visitors can rent exoskeletons to help them climb Mount Tai’s more than 7,000 steps.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a chicken is a dog is a boy. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow PETA on Facebook, X, TikTok, or Instagram.  

Contact:

Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327; [email protected]

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