They pull wagons, go up and down steps with loads and riders on their backs, and are used in forestry work. At the same time, however, the legislation that protects them is incomplete and the picture we have of their numbers and their working conditions is almost non-existent.

The reason for the “work” of horses and donkeys (as they are called), which in our country can be seen in many tourist places – in the Cyclades and the Argosaronic Islands (Santorini, Hydra, Aegina, etc.), as well as in the province, work for their owners.

But what do we know about the conditions in which they live and work? A few days ago, the image of a horse pulling a carriage in Manhattan and falling in the middle of the street, exhausted by the heat, evoked grief and horror. In our opinion, the image of hard work in the midst of intense heat can often be seen in Santorini with its now famous donkeys, which often cause complaints from animal lovers.

In August 2021, a circular entitled “Protection of working horses and animals transported during summer holidays in extreme weather conditions” stated that animals should not work from 13.00 to 17.00 at temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius and above, in the shade.

But who controls it? wonders about Thanasis Heliotis Vice President of the Hellenic Horse Protection Association (ESPI) and explains: “First of all, this is a circular, not a law. Despite the circular, donkeys in Santorini continue to work in extreme heat or are tied without shade.

In fact, there is no Greek legislation for working horses, since it is based on the outdated law 1197 of 1981, which is, in fact, vague about the basic needs of animals – food, water, shade. And this is not only islands and carriages and freight transport. Donkeys and mules are also heavily employed in Northern Greece, where loggers cannot access the forests with machinery and use small horses and mules for their work.”

Their unknown number and database to be created

According to Mr. Heliotis, the lack of a database is the main obstacle to the control of working horses. “Their registration is something that has not yet been done by the Department of Agriculture and Food,” says the ESPI vice president and adds: “We don’t know how many horses and donkeys work, we just know that every summer … a ball on what is happening in this area.

Records exist only in places. In Santorini, for example, we know that there are 35 wagons on the steps, each of which can hold a maximum of 7 animals. The hippodrome also records how many horses it has. As an organization that has taken care of 180 horses since 2006, we know where they are. But we are talking about fragmentary records.

Their registration is subject to European regulation, which should have been introduced in our country many years ago. In April last year, the FSA issued a circular, according to which their registration should begin next October in order to create a database-registry of working horses, where each animal will have its own certified medical book. “Until now, no one obliges a private person to have a medical book for his horse,” says Mr. Heliotis, adding: “This means that if, for example, such an animal is hit on the road, no one is responsible.”

At the same time, Mr. Heliotis emphasizes that when the time comes to create a register, the responsibility for stray horses will lie with the regions, and as for individuals, they will have to declare them in their region. “Keep in mind that undeclared animals also mean a zero tax burden,” emphasizes Mr. Heliotis and explains: “At the moment, black money is being traded in the sale and purchase, the thread of which cannot be “caught” from somewhere. Therefore, there must be mobilization and control so that the registry plan takes shape and does not fall into the void.”

Complaints of overwork and their difficult rescue

The ESPI Vice President tells us that most complaints about their poor working and living conditions come during the summer months. Many complaints say that donkeys and horses carry too much weight, or that they work with open wounds that are not taken care of.

“It’s not that there are no incidents in winter, it’s just that there are not so many of them in the winter months… before our eyes, as well as before the eyes of tourists,” Mr. Heliotis notes and continues: “Unfortunately, we also record a lot homeless animals. For economic reasons some people let them out to graze and they open up because they are trying to find more food. In a number of cases, we find them on the streets, as they have lost their bearings. The area where we usually see abandoned horses is in Aspropyrgos. We also see abandoned former racehorses now considered… unusable.”

And in the village there are whole herds of the homeless, where the owners received subsidies for them and soon abandoned them. However, Mr. Heliotis says that volunteer organizations cannot solve the problem in full due to a lack of staff and limited financial resources.

“We must definitely cancel the selection of emergencies. Animals with large wounds or those that have been pasteurized are the first to come in,” he notes, and continues: “In other cases, we try to cooperate with local police departments, and a positive outcome is judged by whether the department warden will cooperate or not . . We try to make the horses healthy and then give them up for adoption. Until they are adopted, we cannot have new ones in our stable. We are accepting 20 at the moment and unfortunately we are full for a long time. Corresponding structures of the state do not exist.

In conclusion, this particular problem is not Greek, it exists in many countries. What we need in Greece is special legislation for working horses, since they are a completely different category than productive animals (sheep, cows, etc.). We are talking about the animals that helped us rebuild the country after the war, they gave us so much for decades that now we have to take care of them.”