World | Other World Stories

Flying donkey shocks Russian beachgoers

Attached to a parachute, the animal screamed in fear as it circled over heads of holidaymakers sunbathing on a beach in the Krasnodar region.

AFP
Published: 00:00 July 21, 2010

Image Credit: AFP
Russian beachgoers got a shock when they saw a donkey soaring in the blue skies over the balmy beaches on the Sea of Azov in southern Russia last week. The donkey ended up in the skies as a result of an impromptu advertising campaign by several Russian entrepreneurs to attract beachgoers to their private beach.

Moscow: Russian beachgoers got a shock when they saw a donkey soaring in the blue skies over the beaches along the Sea of Azov in southern Russia last week, police said on Tuesday.

Attached to a parachute, the animal screamed in fear as it circled over heads of holidaymakers sunbathing on a beach in the Krasnodar region.

A regional police spokeswoman said the donkey ended up in the skies as a result of an impromptu advertising campaign by several Russian entrepreneurs to attract beachgoers to their private beach.

Instead, they attracted the attention of police who learnt of the flying donkey this week and launched a probe.

"The donkey screamed and children cried," regional police spokeswoman Larisa Tuchkova said. "No one had the brains to call police."

Instead, she said, people reached for their cameras and bombarded a local newspaper with phone calls.

"It was put up so high into the sky that the children on the beach cried and asked their parents: "Why did they tie a doggy to a parachute?" the newspaper, Taman, said late last week.

"The donkey landed in an atrocious manner: it was dragged several metres along the water, after which the animal was pulled out half-alive onto the shore."

The incident is stunning even for a country where animal cruelty is widespread and came as a shock to the locals, said Taman newspaper's editor, Elena Iovleva.

"This has never happened before," she said.

Do you think this is a case of animal cruelty? Should these kinds of stunts be banned? Have we begun to lose sight of animal rights in our quest to entertain and draw in sales?

Comments (36)

Added 18:01 July 21, 2010

I've been to that beach too. It's awful. This stunt is just another in a chain of atrocities committed by these people.

Anonymous, Slough, Afghanistan

Added 17:45 July 21, 2010

Not only is it cruel, but I can categorically tell you all from experience, that this sales technique does not work. A local kebab shop in my area did the same but with a cow a year back, and i can tell you that not only were we all disgusted, my friends and I never ate there again.

Anonymous, Chalvey, United Kingdom

Added 17:39 July 21, 2010

Oh God! This people are really empty-minded people. the best punishment for them is the beach which they were advertising for should be taken away and they make such a huge loss and then they will know. there is other means of advertising a product . this isnt advertising but showing the world how mean the company is.

Aisha, sharjah, Tanzania, United Republic Of

Added 17:12 July 21, 2010

An advertisement to this extreme is unethical and barbaric. It is difficult to think about the fear and panic that speechless animal must have gone through; we humans have no right to treat animals; be it donkey or dogs in this manner. The authorities must take action against this harebrained act.

Sruthy Satheesh, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Added 16:08 July 21, 2010

This news was a shock. I regard this as an absolutely cruel act on behalf of these entrepreneurs who thought of such a malicious way only to gain publicity. I feel this has worked against them instead of working in their favour. Its a shameful act and hope others take a lesson from this never to subject poor harmless creatures to such inhuman treatment. Hope the animal rights activists or law in Russia take strict action against such people.

AG, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Added 15:44 July 21, 2010

This is definitely an act of animal cruelty! And I hope these people get the punishment they deserve. Hanging an innocent animal up in the air like that is not justified, I cant believe they ran out of marketing ideas and had to come up with something as sick as this.

Anonymous, abu dhabi, Afghanistan

Added 15:00 July 21, 2010

Anonymous, Dubai - you should stay anonymous if you find anything in that story to laugh about. You are sick. IT IS NOT IN THE LEAST BIT FUNNY!

Jill, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Added 14:52 July 21, 2010

The question to ponder over is "Who's the donkey behind the campaign??" He or she should be put behind bars not in a prison, but in a zoo. Perhaps that would teach the animalistic human what it is to be an animal!

Sujah Samson-Paul, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Added 14:17 July 21, 2010

Inhuman! I cant believe people can come up with such cheap shots for publicity! How can they use poor innocent animals who cant even communicate how they feel! These ppl need to be dealt with strictly! Animals are not toys that u use anyway u please! They shouldnt be exploited! PETA should take this up!

Samreen, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Added 12:59 July 21, 2010

This is the crappiest thing I have seen - letting an animal fly in the air to advertise. Clearly the enterpreneurs have very poor advertising tactics.Maybe they should try tying themselves up in the air to hang.

Anonymous, Dubai, United Arab Emirates