Donkeys replaced by cars in Greece

HYDRA, Greece – It is one of the most recognised images of Greece: a donkey carrying an elderly villager along narrow, winding streets or dusty country lanes.

But it could soon be consigned to history books and postcards, a snapshot of a bygone era. Greece’s donkeys are disappearing – fast.If current trends continue, experts warn, they will have all but vanished within the next two decades.”The population of donkeys in Greece has been falling dramatically in the past few years,” said Giorgos Arsenos, assistant professor at the Aristotle University’s School of Veterinary Medicine.In the last 50 years the number of donkeys in the country has plummeted by 96 per cent, falling from nearly half a million in the 1950s to just over 18 000 in 1996, he said.Many more died during this summer’s devastating fires that swept the country’s southern Peloponnese – where about 40 per cent of Greece’s donkeys live.By the end of the year, there will be fewer than 16 000 left, Arsenos estimates.”If this reduction continues, then within just 10 to 15 years the donkey population will fall below 1 000 animals,” he said.The trend is particular to northern Mediterranean countries.Elsewhere, the donkey population – globally about 40 million – is growing, explained researcher Paul Starkey, attending an international conference on the role of donkeys and mules in the Mediterranean.But in this part of the world, there is a massive reduction.Used for centuries for everything from transporting people and goods to ploughing fields, the donkey has fallen victim to modernisation.”Where you can replace donkeys with motorised transport …then people will do that, because it’s more convenient,” Starkey said.Almost everywhere in Greece, cars, trucks, tractors and motorcycles have taken over.Everywhere, that is, except for Hydra.For on this picturesque island, a short hydrofoil trip from Greece’s sprawling, congested capital, the donkey- and the mule – keep the town running.With motorised vehicles banned from the island – no cars, no bikes, no trucks – the only form of land transport is equine.The main town sweeps up from the port to the hills above, stately homes rising in a series of winding, narrow lanes and steps that only pedestrians and animals can negotiate.Whether it is tourists looking for a way to get their luggage to their hotel or residents moving house, the only way to transport anything is on the back of an animal.Donkeys even carry out much of the island’s garbage.”Here we have only mules and donkeys as our land transportation.This is a remarkable fact within Europe,” said Ed Emery, who organised the weekend donkey conference on Hydra to examine the reasons behind the massive drop in population and what can be done to stop it.Hydra has roughly 1 200 donkeys and mules, the island’s mayor says – nearly 10 per cent of the country’s total population.Only the town hall has motorised transport – one garbage truck and a small pick-up truck used sparingly.”The donkey and the mule in Hydra has been woven into the fabric of our way of life,” Mayor Kostas Anastopoulos said.”Without these sympathetic animals, I believe it would be impossible for us to live.All transportation, from people to the materials needed to build a house, are done with these animals,” he said.But Hydra is an isolated case in a country where progress and modernisation have often encroached on the traditional way of life.Nampa-APGreece’s donkeys are disappearing – fast.If current trends continue, experts warn, they will have all but vanished within the next two decades.”The population of donkeys in Greece has been falling dramatically in the past few years,” said Giorgos Arsenos, assistant professor at the Aristotle University’s School of Veterinary Medicine.In the last 50 years the number of donkeys in the country has plummeted by 96 per cent, falling from nearly half a million in the 1950s to just over 18 000 in 1996, he said.Many more died during this summer’s devastating fires that swept the country’s southern Peloponnese – where about 40 per cent of Greece’s donkeys live.By the end of the year, there will be fewer than 16 000 left, Arsenos estimates.”If this reduction continues, then within just 10 to 15 years the donkey population will fall below 1 000 animals,” he said.The trend is particular to northern Mediterranean countries.Elsewhere, the donkey population – globally about 40 million – is growing, explained researcher Paul Starkey, attending an international conference on the role of donkeys and mules in the Mediterranean.But in this part of the world, there is a massive reduction.Used for centuries for everything from transporting people and goods to ploughing fields, the donkey has fallen victim to modernisation.”Where you can replace donkeys with motorised transport …then people will do that, because it’s more convenient,” Starkey said.Almost everywhere in Greece, cars, trucks, tractors and motorcycles have taken over.Everywhere, that is, except for Hydra.For on this picturesque island, a short hydrofoil trip from Greece’s sprawling, congested capital, the donkey- and the mule – keep the town running.With motorised vehicles banned from the island – no cars, no bikes, no trucks – the only form of land transport is equine.The main town sweeps up from the port to the hills above, stately homes rising in a series of winding, narrow lanes and steps that only pedestrians and animals can negotiate.Whether it is tourists looking for a way to get their luggage to their hotel or residents moving house, the only way to transport anything is on the back of an animal.Donkeys even carry out much of the island’s garbage.”Here we have only mules and donkeys as our land transportation.This is a remarkable fact within Europe,” said Ed Emery, who organised the weekend donkey conference on Hydra to examine the reasons behind the massive drop in population and what can be done to stop it.Hydra has roughly 1 200 donkeys and mules, the island’s mayor says – nearly 10 per cent of the country’s total population.Only the town hall has motorised transport – one garbage truck and a small pick-up truck used sparingly.”The donkey and the mule in Hydra has been woven into the fabric of our way of life,” Mayor Kostas Anastopoulos said.”Without these sympathetic animals, I believe it would be impossible for us to live.All transportation, from people to the materials needed to build a house, are done with these animals,” he said.But Hydra is an isolated case in a country where progress and modernisation have often encroached on the traditional way of life.Nampa-AP