Donkeys and Mules are currently being abused and are being used as a transport for tourists who do not want to walk 500 steps to visit Fira, an old town in Santorini.

Even after the availability of a cable car in the area, tourists still choose to ride the poor animals and are sometimes seen hitting and abusing them while they are on their way to the old town.

Owners are trying to hold onto the tradition of riding donkeys even after they have violated the animal-welfare laws of Greece.

Under the animal-welfare laws of Greece, animals should have access to clean water and should be protected from the scorching heat or any type of weather.

But owners of the donkeys do not provide any of them, even a proper shade so the animals can rest for a couple of minutes.

The conditions that the donkeys are currently in are illegal, but local authorities are ignoring this and are doing nothing about it.

Mules and Donkeys are forced to climb up and down 4 to 5 times each day and do not get proper rest after the trips.

Animal health experts say that donkeys should not carry a weight that is more than 20 percent of their own body weight. But the owners of the donkeys are ignoring this and are allowing riders that are more than 110 pounds to ride on the animals.

Most tourists do not know how to handle the animals while they are climbing up, people could be seen hitting the animals with sticks or kicking them so they could move forward.

In the video shared above, you could also see open wounds that are deep and are not treated. These wounds are believed to be caused by the equipment that is fixed to their body for the long term.

Local residents report that some donkeys in Santorini do not get any rest, and are forced to lift heavy bags of garbage throughout the night.