Donkeys abandoned or pushed off cliff in Santorini after their working lives are over

The donkeys should be taken care in a humane and fair way.

In the Greek of Santorini, donkeys used to carry visitors always suffer the overload of their mass, causing many injuries on the animals' bodies. The local animal protection organization revealed that when some donkeys were no longer able to work, they were usually abandoned, and some even pushed off the cliff.

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Donkeys are the traditional traveling 'tools' for Santorini is dominated by hilly terrain where vehicles can't drive on. The donkeys have to work very hard for a long time at 30 degrees Celsius, carrying passengers four to five times every day to climb up or down the 568 stairs each time. 

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Christina Kaloudi, who founded the Santorini Animal Welfare Association on this island 10 years ago, said that there is no law to protect the safety of the donkeys, the owners continuously use them until they can't even walk.

Kaloudi said, "Now the holiday season on the island is longer than before. Donkeys are almost working the whole year. They are either carrying tourists or moving building materials and heavy garbage bags."

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She also pointed out that when the donkeys can no longer work, their end is usually abandoned, killed, or pushed off the cliff. "When their working life is over, most of them will be abandoned."

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In 2008, Santorini officials had signed an international convention with the UK to promise to protect the rights of donkeys, but there was no department to implement the convention.

Kaloudi said, "We don't want local people to stop their livelihoods or stop using their donkeys. We just want them to take care of their donkeys in a humane and fair way.”

LONDON (AP) — British pop star Cliff Richard said Monday he has been given the all-clear after treatment for prostate cancer.

The 85-year-old singer joined calls for Britain to introduce a national screening program for the disease.

Richard told “Good Morning Britain” that he was diagnosed a year ago after a health check for his insurance before a tour to Australia and New Zealand.

He said “the good fortune was that it was not very old, and the other thing is that it has not metastasized.”

Richard said the treatment was successful, but “I don’t know whether it’s going to come back.”

He said it was “absolutely ridiculous” that Britain does not have a wide prostate cancer testing program. The state-funded National Health Service currently offers routine screening for breast, bowel and cervical cancer.

The U.K. National Screening Committee has recommended a targeted prostate cancer screening program for men with a genetic mutation that puts them at higher risk. Several high-profile figures who have been treated for prostate cancer have called for a wider screening effort, including cyclist Chris Hoy and former Prime Minister David Cameron.

Richard came to fame in the 1950s and has had U.K. chart hits across seven decades, including “Summer Holiday,” “The Young Ones” and “We Don’t Talk Anymore.”

His intervention follows a call by King Charles III for people to get screened for cancer. The king, who announced in February 2024 that he had an undisclosed form of cancer, said early diagnosis and treatment will allow doctors to reduce his treatment in the new year.

“Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives,” the king said in a video message broadcast Friday.

FILE - Singer Cliff Richard poses for a photo as he arrives for day eleven at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan, File)