Donkeys carrying heavy tourists in Santorini

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More than 1,000 tourists a day visit the island of Santorini from cruise ships in the peak season. They use traditional transport on the hilly terrain - where cars cannot go - and are attracted to idyllic white houses in places such as the principal town of Fira. Every day the donkeys make four to five journeys up its 520 white cobbled steps in temperatures of up to 86F (30C). Animal rights activists claim donkeys are increasingly left with spinal injuries and open wounds from ill-fitting saddles.

It's recommended that animals should carry no more than 20 per cent of their own body weight. The Help the Santorini Donkeys charity

They say that, with obesity on the rise, the animals are being forced to carry ever-heavier loads while they work long hours, seven days a week without shelter, rest and water. The Help the Santorini Donkeys charity is calling for an eight-stone load restriction as the number of overweight tourists arriving from the UK, US and Russia has trebled in the past 10 years. A spokesman said: "It's recommended that animals should carry no more than 20 per cent of their own body weight. "But how would that be imposed and who would be there to make sure that happened?" The spokesman added that mules are being used because donkeys "just aren't strong enough".

Five trips a day are made up Fira's 520 cobbled steps without rest and drink

Christina Kaloudi, 42, of the Santorini Animal Welfare Association, claimed that donkeys are pretty much in work the whole year round. She said: "If they are not transporting tourists up the steps they are moving building materials or rubbish. "There are some good owners out there that follow the code but generally donkeys are worked into the ground and then disposed of when their working lives are over. "They are made to work in terrible conditions without adequate water, shelter or rest and then I find them tied outside my shelter barely alive." In 2008, an international code of practice was signed by officials on the island. But with no appointed enforcement body, owners often work donkeys into the ground.

An open saddle wound