In a bid to ensure that animals are not exploited, Greece has come up with new guidelines which prevent ‘overweight tourists’ from riding donkeys on the island of Santorini.
As per new travel guidelines, the rides on the donkey will not be allowed to tourists weighing over 220 pounds (approx 100 kgs) or one-fifth of the donkey’s body weight.
Though the island’s volcanic beauty attracts millions of tourists every year, donkeys have to face suffering and hence the move came in after activists complained about the spinal injuries suffered by the donkeys due to carrying heavy tourists.
According to reports, to cover the vertiginous climb from Santorini’s port to Fira, the island’s clifftop capital 400 metres (1,300ft) above sea level tourists have three ways of ascension- they can go by foot, cable car, donkey or mule.
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In 2017, the island attracted 2.4 million tourists. More than 700,000 were from cruise ships.