Found on Site: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/20/animal-cruelty-parasailing-donkey-russia
Police in southern Russia have launched an animal cruelty investigation after a tour operator forced a donkey to parasail over the sea.
Video footage showed the beast being catapulted into the air after a group of men on a beach at Golubitskaya, on the Sea of Azoz, strapped it into a harness.
The donkey was then towed by a boat for half an hour, initially flailing its legs and then hanging forlornly under a multi-colored parachute at least 30 meters above the surf.
Stunned beachgoers said the animal had brayed in fear as it whistled through the air, causing children to burst into tears. Others calmly filmed the event on their mobile phones.
"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." Witnesses say the animal was hauled through the sea and on to the sand as it landed.
The animal's owners, who arranged the stunt to attract tourists to pay for parasailing – a popular pastime at Russian resorts – claimed it had not suffered during the flight.
But police said organizers of the "unusual attraction" were to be questioned over a potential animal cruelty charge, which carries a heavy fine or a maximum two-year jail sentence.
Police in southern Russia have launched an animal cruelty investigation after a tour operator forced a donkey to parasail over the sea.
Video footage showed the beast being catapulted into the air after a group of men on a beach at Golubitskaya, on the Sea of Azoz, strapped it into a harness.
The donkey was then towed by a boat for half an hour, initially flailing its legs and then hanging forlornly under a multi-colored parachute at least 30 meters above the surf.
Stunned beachgoers said the animal had brayed in fear as it whistled through the air, causing children to burst into tears. Others calmly filmed the event on their mobile phones.
"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." Witnesses say the animal was hauled through the sea and on to the sand as it landed.
The animal's owners, who arranged the stunt to attract tourists to pay for parasailing – a popular pastime at Russian resorts – claimed it had not suffered during the flight.
But police said organizers of the "unusual attraction" were to be questioned over a potential animal cruelty charge, which carries a heavy fine or a maximum two-year jail sentence.
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