The tourism touts, in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, carried out the stunt in an attempt to get beachgoers to follow in the donkey's footsteps and pay to enjoy a similar parachute ride.
However, the publicity gimmick, which lasted half an hour, turned sour when the donkey began screaming in distress. Children watching from the beach started to cry, and news of the tasteless incident reached local police. To make matters worse, the donkey had less than a soft landing and was dragged several feet over the surface of the Sea of Azov before being hauled on to the beach half-alive.
"The donkey was screaming, and children were crying yet nobody had the brains to call the police," said Larisa Tuchkova, a local police spokeswoman. Instead, most beachgoers filmed the bizarre flight on their mobile phones and later tried to sell the footage to local newspapers. Some beach goers did try to intervene. As the donkey soared more than 100ft above their heads, several people told the touts to "stop torturing" the animal but their requests were ignored.
According to local reports, children watching the spectacle asked their parents "Why did they tie a doggy to a parachute."
Police say they are now investigating whether the group of entrepreneurs responsible for the prank were guilty of animal cruelty. They could be jailed for up to two years if found guilty of such charges. It is not known whether the donkey survived its ordeal.

Even if I was on a beach with vodka and donkeys I would still not consider getting them to paraglide.

In Moscow, 95 people have drowned in the river this summer, mainly due to high consumption of Vodka, before going swimming or performing other water based activities...

It is not known whether the donkey survived its ordeal.