Donkey's of Santorini

[Scorpiorose]

:(I was going to do this but after reading this site, I can't do it....seems so awful to hurt animals for entertainment....especially when there is a cable car built to stop this.

 

I wont be riding the donkeys, that is for sure...

 

http://drupal.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/view/greece

 

I'm going to donate before I go so I at least feel like I am helping...

[screwcork]

Your link represents one view. After having taken the donkey ride several times, I have another view. Try for yourself, and make up your own opinion!

 

Screwcork

[texancruzer]

Your link represents one view. After having taken the donkey ride several times, I have another view. Try for yourself, and make up your own opinion!

 

Screwcork

 

We too took the donkeys up ........ they were more like big mules and from what we saw were pretty darn healthy looking !!!!! There are tons of them and they were only carrying people up...... they came back down empty....... so no one donkey was working that hard.

 

It is truly an experience I will remember. I had a blast !

[Scorpiorose]

Good, your experiences were ok, but that doesn't mean there aren't problems. The practice provides an income, much like designer puppies, it lends itself to abuse issues.

 

I researched quite a bit, the situation has been monitored closely and there is evidence that the treatment of the animals is not what it seems. Money is the bottom line, as it often is. Just because they seem well doesn't mean it is so, not everything is what it seems.

 

Im not advocating abandoning this practice, just not willing to support it until the practice is regulated and managed better. A little research can tell you quite a lot.

[Dayenu]

The economy in Greece is at its worst. You taking or not taking a donkey ride means for a family having or not having food on the table.

[UlvaZell]

I agree with the other posters. After seeing them for myself they looked healthy. Donkeys are work animals and these were doing what they are bred and born to do. There was an attendant leading them up an down the path... they seemed content and well cared for.

[Scorpiorose]

I'm curious, did any of you actually check out the web site provided on the organization that is putting non-profit money towards the care of these animals?

 

http://drupal.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/view/greece

 

They would disagree with you that they are well cared for and that all is not well.

 

I encourage you to actually research it and read what is on this site.

 

To be clear, I am not saying all of those animals are mistreated, but that there is enough evidence of mistreatment that I will not support this and in fact made a donation.

 

To the poster that said that if we don't ride the donkeys we are literally taking food out of the mouths of local people....that does not add up to me. That is like saying that visitors are expected to support everything offered there because if we don't someone wont get fed.

 

We all pick and choose the things we want to do while traveling. I always support the local economy with purchases and give a little something BEFORE I go, usually to the local animal shelter and I never haggle over a price, I usually pay full price for something I want to help out local vendors. But I am not obligated to support everything.

 

I didn't partake in the tube cave tour in Belize because I researched and there appears to be ecological damage going on there due to the number of people they allow through. In Mexico I do not Whale watch because they appear to be harrassing the whales that are there with their calves, with every boat racing to where a whale is spotted forcing them to dive. Do I have to support those practices just to put food on the table of local people? Clearly no.

 

As a visitor I try to support the economy, be respectful and do no harm. :p

[cruisemom42]

You may not be aware that this website you found has been posted before, and that this is somewhat of a contentious issue. I am not saying anything about this organization in particular, but not all information you read on the internet is accurate and fairly presented. You have only to think of PETA to have a good example that this isn't always so.

 

I will reserve judgement until I go and see for myself. But many posters here who have actually been there have not noticed anything that suggested the animals were being mistreated.

[Jana White]

We walked both up and down and enjoyed every minute! Would do it again in a heartbeat!

[4774Papa]

If you walk, the donkeys will try to run over you.

[Albert Ross]

I witnessed a local donkey owner racing his donkey up the hill whipping it constantly, whilst the donkey was losing its balance on the cobbles. We shouted at him to stop and he raised his whip to DH and I. If others had not intervened I have no doubt that it would have come to blows.

Personally I have no interest in visiting Santorini again as this left me (and others around me in tears) and a very nasty memory of this otherwise beautiful island.

JMHO.

[zqvol]

Please don't think of these animals as your run of the mill donkey, they are the size of large mules, or pretty big horses. The decision to take them or not is yours but they have been used this way for thousands of years and seem no worse for the wear.

[jvr123]

This made me decide not to even try it:

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43138204/ns/travel-news/

[cruisemom42]

This made me decide not to even try it:

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43138204/ns/travel-news/

 

Scary as this may be, please note it is NOT the path up to Thira where the accident occurred.

[Langley Cruisers]

We were in Santorini two weeks ago.

 

If you walk, the donkeys will try to run over you.

 

Not true. Donkeys were coming back up the hill alone at the end of the day while we were walking down and not one of them "tried to run me over".

 

This is a way of life for these animals; they know no differently. Of course it's a personal decision to use them or not. Everything in life is a decision, a choice.

[jaylay]

loved Santorini and loved the donkey ride up. those guys are big like horses and are strong. theyre built for that kind of work. its an experience you must take when going to santorini. ;)

[Scorpiorose]

Before my cruise I posted a thread with concerns about what I read about the treatment of the Santorini Donkeys used to cart cruise ship passengers up the hill....a few thought I shouldn't talk until I see for myself, well now I have and.....

 

I now know they mistreat the animals! First of all I chose to walk up to get a first hand look of the situation instead of taking the cable car....I got a great view of the men running these animals. They whipped them from the top with a pole like a broom stick handle to run down again to carry more people. It was a really hot day and since I was sitting most of the day on a cliff side restaurant watching them go up and down, they never rested the animals and other than a dirty bucket of water, they were not properly watered. They made countless trips up and some kept their animal going ALL day. I talked to a gal in a jewelry store and she lives there and said she and many residents believe the animals are so mistreated they have a petition going.

 

The donkey owners were made at the few who chose to walk and they yelled at us and made no attempt to keep the animal out of the way of foot traffic hitting them to keep moving. The donkeys are trying to avoid a smack so they run right over you. I was certain my feet would get trampled but an English gentleman helped me up. On the way down it was the same treatment for people walking and the animals.

 

I don't begrudge their living in the manner but they are most definately mistreating these animals and when the local people even think so it's even more certain it happens continually. I wish cruisers would take a stand and not use them until the treatment is better or they comply with the organization working with them to improve conditions. It is amazing more people haven't been hurt. People have been walking and riding up these steps for since forever so it isn't a crime to walk up or ride up.

 

The cruise ships should not participate in this mistreatment. If you want to further educate yourself search donkeys of santorini on google, there is a non profit group working to improve conditions.

 

To the cruisers who posted that they didn't see any mistreatment, well I can't believe that after what I saw. I guess some just choose not to see or concern themselves with this issue. I for one would never support or take advantage of a place I am visiting......the local men who own the donkeys would make more money in the end when working international people to comply with some basic standards of animal treatment.

 

BTW - Santorini was beautiful....wonderful people other than those on the donkey trail - kind and caring people, I wouldn't judge the whole island by a few.

[Calif.Girl]

My daughter walked down to from the top to where the cruise ships are and said it was very slippery and dangerous and she almost fell.

[Langley Cruisers]

My daughter walked down to from the top to where the cruise ships are and said it was very slippery and dangerous and she almost fell.

 

It is slippery and I slid a few times, but it wasn't as "gross" as I thought it was going to be. They put hay down to improve your grip and soak up the feces. You really just have to have good footwear and take it slow.

[b_cruise]

Just a thought I had about the donkeys which I did ride and this is why. If we choose not to ride them, they will be left for dead probably. I thought the fellows running the donkeys were crooks and very unfriendly. The animals looked fed and full. If they don't work, they probably get set out to pasture with no grass in the field. In fact I saw a lone skinny donkey out ion a hill and another that looked skinny teathered to a pole. I honestly think you have to keep the donkeys working or they may be treated even worse. Do you see how the dogs are treated? I have never seen so many stray skinny dogs searching for food. Just a thought! Don't get me wrong here, I am not saying one way or another which is right but I now can say with first hand experience, I do feel for these animals. Unfortunately they have been born in a place where the economy is struggling, so the rippling effect is taking place on every person and animal. We are so lucky here!

[vjmatty]

My family is from Kardamyla, Chios and I have been visiting there since I was 2. Back then there were more donkeys than cars. Carrying heavy loads and people is what they were raised to do. Over the years I have been to other islands such as Rhodes or Santorini, where donkeys are still used to bring people up mountains. As with any line of work dealing with animals, there are always a few rotten apples spoiling the bunch.... just like in the US.

 

Should we stop horseback riding as a hobby or legitimate past time because a few people neglect or abuse horses? Should we stop getting dogs as pets because some breeders run puppy farms in horrible conditions?

 

I have four Italian Greyhounds, three of which are rescued, so I am not one to take animal cruelty lightly.... but to hold an entire island responsible because a few morons do not know how to properly take care of an animal is absurd and over broad.

[tartanexile81]

This thread appears regularly! Our first visit to Santorini was on Celebrity Summit and we were advised even before we left the ship not to use the donkeys.

 

No-one has mentioned on the thread this time about the obnoxious smell which was really strong even from the safe distance of the cable car and those who did use the donkeys had a foul odour lingering on their clothes afterwards. I watched from a cliff-top restaurant as the donkeys dragged themselves up with some very large tourists on their backs and could have wept. I'm a supporter of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in the UK and as such could not support this practice. Because it has gone on for years doesn't make it right.

 

I also think it's far-fetched for Dayenu to say "The economy in Greece is at its worst. You taking or not taking a donkey ride means for a family having or not having food on the table." Tourism is at the heart of the economy in Santorini, especially from cruise ships these days and maybe a donkey sanctuary would be one way to diversify and attract lots of visitors ... to put food on the table. :)

 

To ride on the donkeys or not is a decision which must be left to the conscience of the individual.

[jms]

I had my first donkey ride in Santorini almost exactly 40 years ago. There was NO funicular from the port area to the town. The donkeys were as big as mules and the ride was the highlight of my Greek Island cruise.

I was there again 18 years ago and the donkeys looked no different but now they had a funicular. I was more hesitant to ride but my friends did and they loved it. The donkeys looked healthy.

I will be visiting again - God willing - next year and I hope to ride the donkeys again - at 67 years of age.

They are part of the culture of Santorini - groomed to carry heavy loads. Just my opinion, of course - but it seems to me that you either want to do it or you don't.

[bronnie43]

I'm going to Santorini next month and I definately don't won't be riding a donkey (for both the animal welfare aspect and personal safety). However it should also be noted for those who fear that the donkey's (or their families) will stave if you take the cable car - a percentage of every cable car ticket goes to the donkey operators. So Dayenu's comment is certainly not valid.

 

I have to say that out of all the ports we go to on our upcoming cruise, I have been looking forward to Santorini the most. However our local newspaper travel section printed a very damning article on Santorini this weekend titled "Traumatic Santorini - made to look a donkey". After hearing that the cable car line was 2 1/2 hrs long, the travel writer chose to walk up the cliffs (with all the stink and slippery dung) and his wife rode a donkey - which kicked her off into the cliff wall giving her some quite nasty injuries. They couldn't wait to sail away again.

 

Its a shame that the tenders don't give cruise passengers the option of going to the new port - it would lighten the bottle neck during the busy summer period.

[Langley Cruisers]

Its a shame that the tenders don't give cruise passengers the option of going to the new port - it would lighten the bottle neck during the busy summer period.

 

 

There may be an option for a ship's excursion to drop passengers at another place, the port of Athinios; this is what we did. We were tendered not to Fira where the cable car/donkeys are, but further up the island where we took a coach bus to Oia. It was fantastic. I would highly recommend this option.