Moment enraged donkey owner attacks activist after she vowed to 'defend' animals being used to transport tourists in Santorini

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 04:20 EDT, 8 September 2026 | Updated: 04:46 EDT, 8 September 2026 A donkey handler violently attacked a female activist as she attended a protest against the use of the animals to transport tourists on the island of Santorini.The woman was among a small group of German activists demonstrating on the Karavolades steps - a steep scenic route where donkeys are used to carry holidaymakers - when the incident unfolded. Footage appears to show her walking away from a man brandishing a stick when he suddenly raises his hand toward her, hits her in the face and pushes her against a wall. The woman then lets out a scream and falls onto the paved steps, as other activists yelled: 'Don't touch her!'She is then seen screaming and crying on the steps as onlookers rushed to her help. Separate footage taken before the incident shows a group of donkey handlers surrounding the group of activists and telling them not to take photos, as one man appears to shove a camera out of a woman's hands. One man is seen holding a stick, while another yells at the activists to leave and threatens to call the police.The activists are part of the animal rights group PETA. Footage shows the moment a donkey handler attacked a German PETA activist in Santorini The shocked woman was seen sitting on the steps crying and covering her face after the attack Video grab shows one of the donkey handlers holding a stick as he tells the group of activists to leaveThe organisation said a small group of female activists had been protesting at the Karavolades steps on Friday morning and condemned the incident. In a statement released by PETA Germany, the organisation said that the men 'destroyed their protest signs and tried to prevent them from filming further,' adding that the men 'roughly grabbed the young women, insulted them, and forced them down the steps. At times, they pushed them against a wall. One of them punched one of the young women in the face.''The animal rights activists wanted to make a statement against the exploitation of donkeys as "tourist taxis." On Santorini, donkeys are forced to drag travellers up the 500 steps from the port of Fira to the town in sweltering heat. The PETA activists planned to demonstrate to locals how to climb the stairs in an innovative and animal-friendly way using robotic legs—so-called exoskeletons,' it added. PETA Germany also said it will file criminal charges against the donkey drivers who attacked the animal rights activists, and has asked tourists who witnessed the incident to get in touch. For decades, donkeys and mules in Santorini have made countless journeys up and down more than 500 cobbled steps on the cliff-side path that leads to the town of Fira.The plight of the donkeys, which are marched from fields at dawn in hot temperatures, has been condemned by locals and tourists, but the practice continues. In recent years, there has been an increase in donkeys suffering spinal injuries, saddle sores and exhaustion, while images on social media showing overweight tourists riding donkeys have sparked anger. When the five-cabin cable car was introduced on the island, donkeys were used less frequently by travellers ascending the steps.But when the volcanic isle became a popular tourist hot-spot, attracting up to 17,000 holidaymakers each day from cruise ships, demand for the donkey rides increased.The animals walk up in lines of two to ten, offload at a 'donkey station' just before the summit of the steps and then return for their next load, often bumping into walkers or squeezing them into walls that look over steep drops.In recent years, thousands of people have signed petitions calling for the use of donkeys to carry tourists to be banned.