Greece Officially Bans Overweight Tourists From Riding Donkeys
Alas, overweight tourists are officially banned from riding donkeys in Santorini.
Animal activists have been fighting to keep tourists off donkeys' backs for months now, saying that overweight tourists are crippling the animals. A successful meeting in July between animal welfare societies, animal rights group and animal owners and the Municipality of Santorini led lawmakers to agree to make immediate changes and improve the welfare conditions of the country's donkeys and equines and update its legislation regarding how much weight the animals can hold.
On Wednesday, the Greek Ministry of Rural Development and Food released a new set of regulations saying that the animals "should not be loaded with excessive weight for their size, age or physical condition. The load cannot exceed the weight of 100kg, or one fifth of their body weight."
The new regulations also address the need for better working conditions. "Under no circumstances should be used animals unfit for work i.e., ill animal, injured, animals in an advanced pregnancy as well as animals with poor maintenance of hooves." Additionally, "the animals should be given appropriate and adequate food and fresh drinking water daily, into containers which cannot be contaminated and are cleaned at least once a day."
According to CNN, the department circulated the guidelines to island regions after receiving several complaints on the donkeys' living conditions throughout the summer. Footage of overweight tourists riding on the donkeys sparked a widespread conversation on social media and a petition to end the abuse obtained over 100,000 signatures.
TPG featured card
at Capital One's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 5X miles | Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
| 2X miles | Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day |
Pros
- Stellar welcome offer of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year upon account opening.
- You'll earn 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, which means you won't have to worry about memorizing bonus categories
- Rewards are versatile and can be redeemed for a statement credit or transferred to Capital One’s transfer partners
Cons
- Highest bonus-earning categories only on travel booked via Capital One Travel
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app