Greece officially banned overweight tourists from popular attraction

Thinking of heading to Greece for your next holiday getaway?

Well, you might want to be careful of packing on the kilos before you go as the popular tourist destination just banned overweight people from one of it’s most famous attractions.

In a bid to protect the welfare of the iconic Santorini work donkeys, the country’s government passed a new law, putting a limit on how much weight the donkeys can carry.

As millions of tourists visit the island each year it’s common for sightseers to pay for a donkey ride from the shore up the steep slopes to the island’s main town.

However, animal welfare groups have banded together suggesting the animals were suffering spinal injuries from carrying heavier travellers.

So now, anyone wishing to ride the donkeys will have to weigh less than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) – or one-fifth of the donkey’s body weight.

The animals “should not be loaded with a weight excessive in size, age or physical condition,” the Greek Ministry of Rural Development and Food instructed.

The new regulations are also cracking down on the animal’s living conditions and treatment following complaints from activists.

The guidelines insist that the animals are exercised once a day for at least half an hour and have access to adequate food and fresh drinking water. Furthermore, any injured animals will no longer be allowed to work.

While it certainly is a step in the right direction animal rights group PETA have suggested that it is simply a ‘throwaway gesture’ that “won’t prevent the daily suffering that these donkeys endure”.

“Donkeys can still be forced to carry a person weighing 15 stone 10 pounds (100 kilograms) up more than 500 steep steps four to five times a day,” said Mimi Bekhechi, PETA UK’s director of international programs.

Got a story tip? Send it to tips@oath.com
Want more lifestyle and celebrity news? Follow Yahoo Lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.