The brutal exploitation of Egypt’s camels: fueled by tourism

What is the real price of your camel tour to Giza and other sights of Egypt? You can't imagine the mistreatment that camels and horses suffer, whipped, beaten and exploited until, exhausted, they are abandoned like waste

Dragged mercilessly from one tourist spot to another, exploited to their last breath, and discarded like waste when their bodies collapse-the camel trade in Egypt is a never-ending cycle of maltreatment and terror catalyzed by tourism.

This was first brought to light by PETA Asia activists through an undercover operation in 2019. For the very first time, it exposed the world to the horrific treatment faced by these animals during the pre- and post-desert tour times.

In Luxor, as everywhere, camels are pushed to the limit of their strength, covered in scars and injuries, often well hidden to make them presentable animals. Such outrageous footage then published raised the wrath of a great deal of people and made the government of Egypt – especially the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities – aware of such brutality.

However, PETA Asia headed back to Egypt for a new investigation in 2023 and 2024, and nothing has changed: the tourism industry is still exploiting camels and horses unrestrained for camel rides, carriage tours, and photos.

This is the image promoted by the animal owners. Yet, if one heads just outside the Giza tourist circuit, the cruelty can be well hidden from the main tourist spots. There, PETA activists found a landfill full of dumped bodies of camels and horses

An open-air graveyard amongst garbage, with bodies too weak to bear the next blow: crows feeding on remains; amazingly, among the bones and garbage lay a horse still alive-left to starve to death.

It is not only the inhuman cruelty that sends shock, but also the fact that the government authorities themselves-as pointed by PETA-are hindering any effort for change.

Knowing all too well the deplorable conditions camels and horses are forced to endure-not only in Egypt, but globally-tourists have indeed been documenting the abuses. But it is reported that local authorities have confiscated SD cards and ordered tourists to delete the photos and videos.

In the meantime, just a few meters away, workers can be seen beating the animals mercilessly. The evidence really exposes the severity of treatment horses and camels are exposed to, being treated as if they were less than an object.

It ranges from the infamous Birqash camel market to the Pyramids and the slaughterhouses, where animals are killed by machetes and kicks. This gruesome system of exploitation needs to be brought to an end.

PETA has continued to call upon Egyptian officials to rein in and prohibit these antiquated and perilous practices, calling for an animal-friendly face of tourism.

There is no beauty, no fun in someone else’s pain. And horses and camels in Egypt do suffer every single moment. If you don’t want to contribute to their pain, avoid choosing these animal-based attractions.

Source: PETA