PETA Global 2020 Issue 1

It was a long journey to Animal Rahat’s sanctuary in Maharashtra, but the camels seemed to enjoy being transported rather than being forced to do the transporting themselves.

White flag: © iStock.com/SteveAllenPhoto

H olidays aren’t always happy occasions for animals – witness, for example, Spain’s San Fermín festival (aka “The Running of the Bulls”), in which dozens of panicked bulls are forced to stampede through the slippery streets of Pamplona before ending up in the bull ring with a knife in their back. The holy days of Eid al-Adha – during which people slit the throats of millions of animals, mostly lambs and goats, to commemorate Abraham’s sacrifice of a sheep – are another example. But this past Eid worked out well for the camels PETA calls the High Five. They were spotted in the holy town of Varanasi, India, with their legs about to be bound and their mouths tied shut before being thrown to the ground and slaughtered. When PETA India and local activists called the police to remind them that camel sacrifice was illegal there, the handsome animals, who had probably been forced to give rides to tourists, escaped their doom. Sick, Tired, and Hungry Though no longer in imminent danger, Afzal, Arjun, Bhuriya, Karan, and Unmukt were exhausted and in terrible shape. Veterinarians with the PETA-supported relief organization Animal Rahat conducted blood tests on the High Five and discovered that they had varying degrees of liver and kidney damage as well as bacterial infections. Afzal and Karan had gaping, maggot infested wounds caused by wooden pegs that had been inserted into holes piercing their nasal septums. The pegs were attached to ropes that their owners used to pull them around.

These Mothers’ Work Is Done

When police raided an illegal sand-mining operation on the banks of the Bhima River in Maharashtra, they found 43 donkeys – including mothers with nursing foals – painfully overloaded with heavy sandbags weighing as much as 440 pounds (200 kg). The police seized all the animals, and while they were being held at the police station, Animal Rahat fed and cared for them and treated them for any medical conditions

PETA India Saves Camels From Sacrificial Knife

they had. When they were well enough to travel, the organization arranged for every last donkey to be transported – complete with police escort! – to a partner sanctuary in the beautiful Nilgiri Hills. Special thanks to Ugo Sap, a donkey’s best “dad,” who is sponsoring this group’s lifetime care.

It was a long journey to Animal Rahat’s sanctuary inMaharashtra, but the camels seemed to enjoy being transported rather than being forced to do the transporting themselves. At every stop, they got out and stretched their legs, ate leaves from the tops of peepal and neem trees, and rolled in the dirt. At their new home, they received antibiotics, painkillers, and other emergency treatment, along with nutrient-dense groundnut and cottonseed cakes to build up their strength. By the time you read this, they should be out of quarantine and settled in with the sanctuary’s resident camels, Sameer, Simran, and Tracy – who also had to be

nursed back to health after being rescued from circuses where Animal Rahat inspections revealed rampant abuse.

Safe at last, they relish relaxing and being groomed by Animal Rahat staff.

Take Action Now Afzal, Arjun, Bhuriya, Karan, and Unmukt need you! Please visit

AnimalRahat.com/HighFive to make a gift toward their care and in support of all Animal Rahat’s work to improve the lives of animals in India.

Global

PETA’S 2020 VISION: SAVING ANIMALS AROUND THE WORLD

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OVER THE HUMP

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