For years, one of the most recognizable experiences on the Greek island of Santorini has been riding a donkey from the old port up to the hilltop town of Fira. But growing concerns over animal welfare, combined with overcrowding along the steep, stone-stepped route, have pushed local authorities to introduce stricter regulations. Under the new rules, anyone wishing to ride a donkey must weigh no more than 220 pounds. The measure, reported by Always Pets, marks a significant shift in how the island manages this long-standing tourist tradition.
The weight restriction is rooted in existing Greek regulations stipulating that donkeys should not carry loads exceeding roughly 20 percent of their own body weight. The decision followed a series of documented reports detailing injuries and exhaustion suffered by the animals, including spinal damage, saddle sores, and extreme overexertion during peak tourist season. The route from the port to the town of Fira spans approximately 1,300 feet and involves somewhere between 500 and 600 stone steps depending on the path taken. During busy periods, individual donkeys were known to complete the climb multiple times per day.
The new measures go beyond just the weight restriction. Handlers are now required to ensure their animals have consistent access to drinking water and adequate rest between rides, reducing the risk of dehydration, fatigue, and long-term joint problems. Authorities have also outlined plans for improved monitoring, which would include tagging the animals and maintaining detailed records to better track each donkey’s health and working conditions over time.
Donkeys have been woven into the fabric of island life on Santorini for generations. Long before roads and cable cars existed, these animals hauled construction materials, food supplies, and people across the island’s rugged, vertical terrain. They remain a fixture of the tourist landscape today, especially in areas inaccessible to motor vehicles, and are deeply tied to the island’s visual identity.
The timing of these reforms connects to a much larger conversation about the effects of mass tourism on Santorini. In the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, the island welcomed more than two million visitors, including hundreds of thousands arriving by cruise ship. That surge in foot traffic placed enormous pressure on the donkey route between the port and Fira, and local authorities eventually introduced caps on the number of cruise ships permitted to dock each day. Animal welfare has now become part of that broader debate about how much tourism the island can sustainably absorb without fundamentally altering life there.
Donkeys, known scientifically as Equus asinus, are domesticated descendants of the African wild ass and have been used as working animals for more than 5,000 years. They are known for their endurance and surefootedness on rough terrain, which made them ideal for island environments like Santorini long before modern infrastructure existed. Despite their reputation for stubbornness, donkeys are actually highly intelligent and sensitive animals that form strong social bonds. Animal welfare organizations have long advocated for standardized weight and workload limits for working equines globally, arguing that overloading is one of the most common and preventable causes of injury in these animals.
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