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The photos show how donkeys in Greece are struggling against the weight of overweight vacationers.
We reported last week that the locals were raising a new type of donkey to cope with the increase in the number of tourists riding them
have traditionally used on the island of Santorini to transport people to hilly areas that vehicles can not access.
Animal rights advocates claim that obesity increases, animals are forced to carry ever-heavier loads for long hours, seven hours.
Some were injured in the spine and had open wounds in poorly fitting stools:
During the months of May to October, up to five cruise ships dock daily in Santorini, bringing in 1,200 tourists who go up the capital, Fira.
Locals resorted to raising donkeys with mules, which are larger and larger, to carry heavier tourists
A spokesman for Help the Santorini Donkeys said: not more than 20% of their own weight.
"Obese and overweight tourists, combined with lack of shade and water, pure heat and 568 paved steps, are what causes such a problem. 19659002] & # 39; There should be a weight restriction. With donkeys, there should not be more than eight stones, but how would that be imposed and who would be there to make sure that would happen?
Christina Kaloudi, 42, moved from Athens 10 years ago. She said that over the last ten years she has noticed that the number of overweight tourists arriving on the island from America, Russia and the United Kingdom has tripled.
Witnesses say every day that donkeys make four or five trips along the road. 520 white cobbled steps up to the town of Fira with its iconic white building in temperature of up to 30 degrees, often without rest, without sun protection, poorly adjusted tack and without water.
She said: "The holiday season on the islands is now much longer than it was, which means that donkeys work virtually the entire year.
"They do not carry tourists on the steps, they carry building materials or carry heavy bags
" There are some good owners who follow the code, but generally the Donkeys are buried and then eliminated when their work life is over
They are made to work in terrible conditions. I find them tied out of my shelter, barely alive.
In 2008, an international code of conduct for equines was signed by island officials, alongside the donkey sanctuary of the United Kingdom. [19659002] But with no designated body to enforce the regulations, homeowners often work donkeys in the ground before setting them aside when they are now more capable.
Christina says that when donkeys reach the end of their working life, they are often abandoned. She added, "We do not want to prevent people from making a living or using donkeys on the march, but to treat them in a fair and humane way.
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