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Why you should think twice before riding a donkey in Santorini

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The quaint island of Santorini in Greece is never short of tourists who are attracted to the whitewashed cottages and blue-domed churches.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many tourists are arriving by boat, before making their way up hundreds of steep steps to the island’s main town.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you don’t want to walk, there are donkeys available to carry those who can’t or don’t want to journey up the stairs.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, a new campaign has been launched to encourage you to think about the strain that’s being put onto the donkeys.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">British charity The Donkey Sanctuary has launched the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Their Hooves</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> campaign as a way of improving public awareness about the plight of donkeys.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The initiative is the result of a partnership between The Donkey Sanctuary and local Santorini authorities as the strain of passengers who weigh more than 100 kilograms are injuring the spines of the donkeys.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"We are excited to launch the In Their Hooves video and we hope visitors to Santorini are able to make informed decisions about the welfare of working equines they will see there," Barbara Massa, The Donkey Sanctuary's regional director for Europe, said in a </span><a href="https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/news/collaboration-with-cruise-giant-to-protect-santorinis-donkeys"><span style="font-weight: 400;">press release</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"We will continue to work with the municipality, providing training to equine health service providers and also the animal owners, all of whom are critical to improving the working conditions and practices on the island."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The initiative encourages tourists to think about whether or not the animals have access to adequate water and shelter, whether or not their owner treats them respectfully, if they show any signs of injury and whether or not they are expected to carry an acceptable weight.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Have you ridden a donkey before? Let us know in the comments.</span></p>

Travel Trouble

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A pony, a donkey and a cow walked into a pub

<p>A ragtag group of barnyard animals have headed to an iconic Australian pub to celebrate their newfound freedom after escaping from their paddock on Monday night.</p> <p>The owner of Humpty Doo Hotel, situated 40km north of Darwin in the Northern Territory, woke to find three unusual patrons at her establishment: a pony, cow and donkey.</p> <p>Owner Mary Walshe, who lives next door to the pub, phoned NT police at 2.45am to alert them of the trespassers, fearing for the animals’ safety.</p> <p>"I had to convince them that I wasn't on any sort of substances that might be causing this story,” she said.</p> <p><img width="500" height="278" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/23354/poney2_500x278.jpg" alt="Poney2" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>Officers came to the aid of Ms Walshe, helped her corral the animals into her backyard using a bag of bread.</p> <p>After assessing the situation, police also identified the ringleader of the trio, blaming the escape squarely on the pony.</p> <p>"The little stallion [was] definitely the leader of the pack and had the other two following."</p> <p>After a public appeal for information, Ms Walshe confirmed the owners of the animals had collected the animals and they’ve since returned to their paddock.</p> <p>The trio had walked about a kilometre from their home before they decided to stop at the pub for a drink.</p> <p>What's the strangest things you've ever seen in a pub? Share your experience with us in the comments below. </p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/news/news/2016/03/polar-bear-saves-her-cub-from-drowning/">Polar bear saves her cub from drowning</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/travel/travel-tips/2016/05/yeti-abominable-snowman-video-spain/">Is this creature in the snow a Yeti?</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/news/news/2016/04/this-baby-wombat-needs-a-professional-cuddler/">This baby wombat needs a professional cuddler</a></em></strong></span></p>

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Mini donkey gets new lease on life with prosthetic

<p>Determination probably wouldn’t be the first quality you’d associate with a miniature donkey, but if Bella’s story is anything to go by maybe it should be.</p> <p>Separated from her mother at just two months old by a negligent breeder, Bella was in a bad state. Bella was severely underweight, malnourished and had started to develop frostbite in her leg.</p> <p>But, as luck would have it, a couple from Minneapolis visited the farm and discovered Bella.</p> <p><img width="500" height="414" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/13977/bella-two_500x414.jpg" alt="Bella Two" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>They couldn’t bear seeing Bella in that state and decided to rescue her.</p> <p>But the frostbite in her leg was more severe than first thought, to the point where vets initially advised Bella’s new owners to put her down.</p> <p>But there was something in Bella’s eyes that made them change their mind.</p> <p>One of Bella’s owners, Ann, told the Huffington Post: “They really strongly wanted to put her down. Donkeys don’t have any value in society. I said, “Well, she’s still here, she’s still surviving. I don’t want to put her down if she’s still fighting.”</p> <p>So Bella’s leg was amputated and fitted with an expensive prosthetic replacement.</p> <p>And now she’s up, running around and loving life.</p> <p><img width="500" height="548" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/13978/bella-one_500x548.jpg" alt="Bella One" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>While the procedure was expensive, her owners say it was well worth it.</p> <p>“She’s super sweet. She loves people, she loves affection,” says Ann, “She’s very used to having people ‘hands-on’ because she’s had that her whole life … she’s pretty popular around here.”</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/01/no-one-buys-the-silence-of-the-lambs-house/"><strong>No one is game to buy the Silence of the Lambs house</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/01/112-year-old-reveals-the-secret-to-a-long-life/"><strong>112-year-old reveals the secret to a long life</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/01/trick-to-close-snap-lock-bags-in-two-seconds/"><strong>Trick to close snap-lock bags in two seconds</strong></a></em></span></p>

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