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SHAME ON MY COUNTRY

RESCUE: Donkey's in Greece

Thursday November 1,2007

By Jo MacFarlane in santorini

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(8)

GREEK easyGroup billionaire Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannouhas joined the Daily Express crusade to end the suffering of Santorini’s donkeys, saying he is “embarrassed” at their treatment.

The concerned businessman, 40, who spent his summer holidays on the island as a child, has pledged £24,000 every year to help the Santorini Animal Welfare Association double the number of medical checks the donkeys receive.

He is prepared to donate a further £1,000 for every donkey that is rescued from its abusive owner and re-homed in a more caring environment. His incredible generosity comes after he read reports highlighting the abuse of the donkeys in the Daily Express and how thousands of our readers reacted angrily and demanded help for the abused animals.

And he reveals how he personally witnessed the appalling misery the animals must endure during his childhood holidays and that the memory of their suffering has never left him. His gesture means that every donkey and mule on the island will receive a better standard of care. And it is likely to reduce the number of animals which are routinely abused by their owners.

Speaking of his experiences on the island, Sir Stelios, who owns easyJet and easyCruise, said: “I have been going to Santorini and other Greek islands for my summer holidays ever since I was a kid. “The landscape of Santorini is undoubtedly one of the most dramatic in the world, particularly the view from the town of Fira at sunset. “I am familiar with the path that the donkeys take up and down that cliff.

“Personally I use the cable car on the way up but I have walked the path on the way down and I have seen what some of these loveable animals have to endure. “While I accept that riding on a donkey can add an ‘authentic touch’ to someone’s holiday, it is not something that I personally like to do.

“As a Greek myself, I feel embarrassed that in a modern European country like my birthplace, in 2007 there is no proper framework for protecting these animals from potential abuse.”

He told of how, during a recent visit to Santorini, he had considered adding the island as a destination on the Greek itinerary of his new ship, easyCruise Life. But he decided against it, partly because passengers would potentially use the donkeys as transport.

He said the situation in Santorini was currently “unacceptable” and he criticised other cruise ships for encouraging the use of the animals.

“Only a month ago I was a guest of the financing bank of easyCruise on another cruise ship that called in to Santorini and I found the way the crowds from the other mega cruise ships swamp the area completely unacceptable,” he said. “It appears that some cruise lines even sell tickets that can be used on the donkeys.

“Greece is my birthplace and I would like to help to improve this track record in the treatment of animals - but I think the solution would have to be sustainable for all sides.” He said he would “gladly provide” the support the SAWA needs to raise the number of medicals the donkeys to four times a year.

“If the Santorini Animal Welfare Association can double the number of times they provide the donkeys with a medical check to four per year, then I would gladly provide the support they need to achieve this with a donation of £24,000.

“Better still, I would make an additional donation to them of £1,000 for every donkey that they rescue from its current owner by purchasing it and finding a suitable home for it. “If I can help in my own small way and see improvements in this situation, then I would commit to adding Santorini to the list of Greek islands visited by easyCruise. “With better transport, to avoid the use of donkeys, and a properly organised dock, we can bring more tourists to enjoy Santorini by day and by night.”

Last night Dr Margarita Valvis-Roussos, founder of the SAWA, was delighted by the offer. She said: “This is a very nice and very generous offer. “But this is a very big and complicated project so we would need to talk further about the details. “I would be very keen to talk to Stelios to see how we can move this on.”

I am familiar with the path that the donkeys take up and down that cliff

GREECE IN MORAL DECAY

14.05.08, 8:33pm

I have read with interest about the abuse of the donkeys on the island of Santorini, it is an embarrassment to Greece. But we must not forget that animals all over Greece are being abused everyday, poisoned, killed, puppies, kittens thrown out with the rubbish. I live on the island of Lesvos and it is truely appauling what how the animals are treated, i am sick of e-mailing Greek authorities and getting more or less sneered at. It is illiegal under Greek Law to poison, abuse, kill or abandona an animal, if prosecuted they should expect a fine ranging from 300 to 1500euros and/or a prison sentence of up to six months. ufortunately and disgustingly this law is ignored, why? The person in charge of the donkeys in Santorini should be prosecuted under this law for abuse and hang his head in shame!! These donkey treks should be stopped NOW!! Greece you are in moral decay and i among others are starting a petition to get people to boycott Greece until it implements these laws! Greece is like a rotten apple, it looks good on the outside, but slice into it and you can see the rotteness inside, well now all that rotting is coming to the surface and tourists are not stupid, do not underestimate them, they will not return when the truth is revealed. I suggest to learn more visit www.wagny.org Greece and www.wagny.net Greece.
THE GREATNESS OF A NATION AND ITS MORAL PROGRESS CAN BE JUDGED BY THE WAY ITS ANIMALS ARE TREATED. Ghandi.

• Posted by: Bluebell42 • Report Comment

GREECE IN MORAL DECAY

14.05.08, 8:19pm

With regards to this article...

• Posted by: Bluebell42 • Report Comment

BRAVO, STELIOS, BUT IT'S NOT ONLY THE DONKEYS WHO SUFFER IN GREECE ....

01.11.07, 5:59pm

Congratulations, Stelios, for supporting the campaign by the Express, to stop the abuse of donkeys on Santorini .... in fact anywhere else in Greece too! They truly 'suffer in silence', work relentlessly and at the end of their working life, they are usually abandoned. But it's not only the donkeys who suffer in Greece!!!! Anybody who has been to Greece will have seen many stray dogs and cats ............. and they are usually under a year old or, at most, between 1-2 years ... WHY??? Because most of them don't survive from one year to another .... because they are either poisoned, run over by cars or they die through starvation and disease. How sad that in Greece, poisoning of strays is still a common practice and is in fact seen as a cheap method of stray contrl.........

Daily Express has certainly opened a can of worms with their articles and I can't thank them enough, but
it would help a lot if the general public would put pen to paper and write to the Greek authorities. Once again I include their email addresses and hope that many of you will write to them, especially if you have had first hand experience of seeing the plight of animals in their country.

aoikono@gnto.gr Athansasios Oikonomou

akontos@minagric.gr Alexandros Kontos (Min of Agriculture)

ka6u016@minagric.gr Chrisoula Dile

arissp@aias.gr Aris Spiliotopoulos (Minister of Tourism
==========================
www.greekanimalrescue.com

• Posted by: VES • Report Comment

OFFER OF FINANCIAL AIDE TO HELP THE DONKEYS OF SANTORINI

01.11.07, 5:36pm

I hope this very generous offer sees its way thru to directly helping the donkeys; perhaps even setting up a retirement sanctuary for them. Unfortunately nothing will be accomplished without financial backing; that's just the way it is worldwide. This could be a great mission and would set an example for other areas of Greece to follow. The only problem with buying the donkey from its owner is that he'll likely just go out and purchase another one with the money and start the process all over again so that's a concern that also has to be addressed in the overall scheme of things. I hope that SAWA and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannouhas come up with a sound action plan and the donkeys receive the positive benefits of such a project. Maybe there are a few more wealthy Greeks who'd like to step up to the plate; as they say, 'charity begins at home'. This is most definitely a step in the right direction so let's hope it doesn't fall by the wayside. Let's not miss out on an excellent opportunity to do something good for animals in Greece and go forward from this experience.

• Posted by: greektails • Report Comment

RE: SANTORINI DONKEYS

01.11.07, 4:07pm

I've been telling people for 22 years not to ride the donkeys. Over the years I've seen many examples of their mistreatment and abuse. I support any efforts to help them and I applaud the efforts of those who actively advocate on their behalf.

But it's a complex problem. Do you want to make destitute the donkey men and their families? The simplistic response is to blame them and say they get what they deserve, but the reality is that these men know no other path but the one they have followed for generations. There are no programs extant to retrain them vocationally. Any efforts to eliminate the donkey's role in tourism needs to be tempered with compassion and concern for the livlihood of those who depend on them for their daily bread. Otherwise one form of abuse will just be substituted with another.

• Posted by: Brotherleelove • Report Comment