Tuesday, Russian police opened an animal cruelty investigation after a video surfaced of a parasailing donkey from a local a tour operator. The video can be seen below and authorities said that the donkey wasn’t injured, but just shocked and dazed after it landed safely on land.
A group of men strapped the donkey into a harness on a beach at Golubitskaya on the Sea of Azoz. He was towed by a boat for about half an hour said witnesses in the area, and that he was hauled through the sea when he landed. His legs can be seen flailing and then hanging while he was taken up about 30 metres above the ocean.
Beachgoers said the donkey whistled in fear through the air as it was being carried up and children near the area burst into tears because they were afraid for the donkey.
"This is a little town and we all know that donkey well," one local woman told reporters. "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."
The people who own the donkey organized the stunt in order to entice tourists to parasailing, and they claim the donkey did not suffer during the flight.
Russian police said that they will open an investigation of the "unusual attraction" and open a possible animal cruelty charge. If convicted the owners will face a heavy fine or a maximum 2-year jail sentence.
See the video below.
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Source: Guardian
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Comments
So what did these freakin idiots get out of this? Absolutely nothing but a cheap thrill. I hope everyone involved goes to jail.
Bullies never fail to amaze me. Somehow it seems fitting (albeit cruel) that these jackasses used a jackass, a DEFENSELESS creature. They're WIMPS at heart, I mean they wouldn't dare try this stunt with a tiger or a bear! And the onlookers shouldn't have given them an audience. The onlookers might think they're innocent, they ARE NOT: Remember the moral of the movie A FEW GOOD MEN? Here, this quote from the movie says it all: "We did nothing wrong!" Dawson - "Yeah we did, we for supposed to fight for those who can't fight for themselves. We were supposed to fight for (the victim) Willie"
It did not look like a donkey to me. It looked like a Russian.
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