Moment thug sends terrified donkey over a cliff on 330ft zipline ride in front of laughing onlookers as cruel stunt sparks fury

Daily Mail​

a day ago

Horrific animal cruelty footage shows a tour operator sending a helpless donkey over a cliff on a terrifying zipline ride.
The brutal stunt was in the Dagestan region of southern Russia, aimed at attracting tourists.
The tour operator named Ramazan posted the sickening footage captioned: 'The donkey flew faster than an eagle!'
He then quickly deleted it as he was flooded with hostile comments.
In 24 hours, the video received 5,000 furious posts.
One said: 'This is not humour, this is sadism!'
The strapped donkey was attached to the zipline as it was sent on a journey of terror down a mountain.
People are heard laughing as the ass sped downwards.
Reports say the zipline drop was more than 100 metres long [328ft] and there are fears the donkey was hurt at the end of the ride - though this is not shown on the video.
The ride is advertised as a 40 second drop.
Animal rights activists were quoted on social media saying the donkey 'may have suffered joint and spinal injuries as it landed', but the tour guide insisted the animal was unharmed.
His team insisted: 'The animal is healthy and wasn't injured!'
Worryingly, the donkey has not been seen since the ride from hell on the Matlas plateau in Dagestan's Khunzakhskiy district.
One local media outlet jokingly reported: 'In Dagestan, they've opened a new way of air-delivering donkeys. Even a donkey rode a zipline — have you?'
This report brought a deluge of hostile comments.
'This was completely unnecessary, why torture the poor animal for social media hype,' said one.
Another posted: 'They must be held accountable. This is animal abuse.'
One more wrote: 'Heartless, brainless people! They've got to be punished.'
Another demanded: 'I hope the unknown individuals who sent the donkey flying on a zipline will be identified by the police.'
Russian police were said to be carrying out a 'check' of the footage which was filmed one month ago but has only now emerged.
But there was no evidence of criminal action against the owner, although in theory this would be an offence under Russian law with a fine of up to £2,750.
If the donkey was injured it could lead to a three year prison sentence.
The case recalls a donkey sent parasailing from a beach in resort Anapa attached to a speedboat 15 years ago, an incident of animal cruelty which sent shockwaves around the world.
This donkey Anapka was lifted 140ft above the Azov sea.
'I didn't do it to advertise anything - I just did it for fun,' said Vasily Gorobets, then 32, the man who had been entrusted with caring for the donkey for three months when the parasailing incident was filmed by shocked tourists.
The donkey was giving beach rides to Russian children for £1 a go when it was sent skywards.
'There were 20 people fixing the donkey into the parachute. It was just for fun, and everyone was laughing,' said Gorobets, who claimed he could not understand what the fuss was about.
The donkey was aged 17 and later was sent to recuperate in the Kremlin horse stables thanks to then president Dmitry Medvedev.
However, the animal was so traumatised it died less than a year after its horrific ordeal.