Animal Cruelty Charges May Result from Parasailing Donkey Stunt

Beach-goers at a resort at the Sea of Azov in southern Russia were horrified by what was meant to be an advertising stunt for a nearby resort. Employees from the resort strapped a donkey to a parachute towed by a speedboat to advertise parasailing at the resort.

Instead of attracting tourists, the stunt upset many of the vacationers at the beach and caused children to burst into tears as the donkey brayed in fear overhead. The donkey floated above the beach for approximately half an hour before enduring a rough landing in the water and being dragged out onto the shore.

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London newspaper The Guardian quoted a local woman who recognized the animal. “This is a little town and we all know that donkey well,” she said. “He worked for several years on the beach, being photographed with tourists. As soon as his ordeal was over, a lot of the people on the beach ran forward to soothe him.”

Though the donkey was strapped into the parasailing rig in front of beach-goers, many of whom took photos and video with their cell phones, no one stopped the men from carrying out the plan.

“The donkey screamed and children cried,” police spokeswoman Larisa Tuchova told reporters. “No one had the brains to call police.”

In the end, the publicity stunt has backfired on its organizers. They are being questioned by police and can face up to two years in jail if found guilty of animal cruelty charges.

Donkeys and other equines are often victims of cruelty across the globe. Their use as beasts of burden leaves them vulnerable to being overworked in third-world countries. Additionally, donkeys are often mistreated in the tourism industry where they are used to pull and carry visitors with little regard to appropriate size ratio of equine to passenger. When their useful days are over, the animals are often let loose to fend for themselves on city streets.

Learn more about helping donkeys and horses internationally.
International Charities Help Equine Victims of Poverty
The Brooke
The Donkey Sanctuary
World Society for the Protection of Animals

14 years ago

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View Comments

Heidi says:
July 21, 2010 at 7:03 am
The fools who did this horrible act should be strapped to a parachute then lowered into a pool of piranah and let them scream their "ass" off!!!
Brandy says:
July 21, 2010 at 7:34 am
I hope these bastards rot in Hell where they belong! No animal should be treated cruelly! Give me 10 minutes alone with these jerks!
Jennifer says:
July 21, 2010 at 9:30 am
You Tell em
Nana says:
July 21, 2010 at 10:09 am
The only thing worse than these so-called businessmen doing this horrific thing, is, the fact that others stood around, took pictures & videos, and did nothing to stop it!
JVM says:
July 21, 2010 at 10:18 am
Protect these animals!These animal organizations are getting very smart. There is a new pro-animal site geared towards the press--totally free--that is massively distributing their pro-animal video. The video is showing up on MTV, NBC, etc. A CNN story that just aired is at http://freeanimalvideo.org/about
Connie says:
July 21, 2010 at 10:44 am
I wish people would stop before they do some of these crazy stunts and think of the animal's feelings. The world would be a much better place! I hope these people are punished.
Barbara says:
July 21, 2010 at 12:06 pm
While it would have been better if people had voiced their disapproval before the tragic act occurred, at least there was a public outcry in the end. As long a people unite and
don’t patronize people or organization that engage in abusive acts toward animals there’s hope for the future.
Amy says:
July 21, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Some people should NEVER have an animal in their care. The employees are a prime example.
And shame on the onlookers for doing nothing about it until after the fact.
Meghan Sara says:
July 21, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Thats terrible!
Jackie says:
July 21, 2010 at 4:47 pm
The name of the resort should be all over the news. I hope they do go to jail, and I would be even more happy if they went bankrupt as well. A half an hour is a long time to listen to ANYTHING scream. It was totally ignorant and mean to do that to any animal in the first place, but there is NO POSSIBLE EXCUSE for not pulling it down after hearing that first minute of screaming. That should have gotten the message across to the slowest brain. You don't need language to understand screaming.