Letter From Egypt

“I recently spent two and half weeks in Egypt and saw many amazing temples, ancient artefacts and of course the pyramids. But what will stay with me the most is the skinny and sick carriage horses - whipped and beaten. The tiny donkeys, diarrhoea stains down the back of their legs, bald and weeping patches on their skin, forced to carry enormous loads that should of been carted by several donkeys. And the cats wandering the streets trying to rip apart plastic bags of rubbish to find food - their stomachs hanging down to the ground, the result of having had litter after litter of kittens.

The revolution is an important point in Egyptian history but many unscrupulous (albeit desperate) Egyptians are taking advantage of the situation. For instance, I was told that the buses that normally take Nile cruise tourists from the port of Edfu to the temple of Edfu were destroyed and all tourists that want to visit the temple are forced into carriages - drawn by horses that are clearly not receiving enough food or any type of veterinary care. I had to pay the driver of the carriage I was in 'baksheesh' - bribe or tip - not to use their whip and to go slowly. Most carriage drivers whip their horses in the face and make them canter with a carriage load of four people. As a horse owner myself I was aghast at the treatment of animals they are responsible for and that their livelihood depends on. But the attitude towards animals is a very different one to that of Australians.

The tour operators also need to look at their responsible tourism policies in regards to animals. A donkey ride was included as part of my tour, the donkeys used are very small, about ten hands high, and there was no restriction on who could ride. There were men who weighed 120-130kg that were permitted to ride these small animals, encouraging their donkeys to trot faster and faster. Donkeys are strong for their size, but these donkeys are not fed much food and there should be weight restrictions in place for the well being of the donkeys. I'm hoping the tour company will be open to change in this regard.

At the moment the strong Aussie dollar does go a long way in Egypt. If it is within your means, perhaps you can contribute a donation that AAA can direct to these animals in need, for food, care and education purposes.”

By Amber Howard
AAA supporter and recent tourist to Egypt