PETA Global 2023 Issue 2

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Beatings FROM EGYPT

Getaway

PETA-supported veterinarians work to stop the cycle of abuse by holding humane education presentations in local schools in Petra.

Airplane: © iStock.com/kafl • Elephant: © OlegD/Shutterstock.com • Background: © iStock.com/Yevhenii Dubinko • Frame: © iStock.com/tomograf

to scavenge food from garbage. PETA entities are pressing for action, but until officials crack down, it’s up to tourists to reject all animal rides. Petra fied Horses, Camels, and Donkeys A PETA-supported on-site veterinary clinic at the “Lost City” of Petra, Jordan, is an oasis in the desert for some of the 1,300 ailing horses, camels, and donkeys toiling

there. Veterinarians treat the animals for colic, malnutrition, dehydration, saddle sores,

From Animal-Abusive Tourist Traps

lameness, and wounds caused by hobbles and metal chains cutting into their flesh – all free

Taken for a ride IN SANTORINI

of charge. They tend to animals who’ve been cut with razor

Blue Domes and Blue Animals: Santorini

ads on the ferries to Santorini urging visitors to ride the cable cars instead of the animals, and has delivered 160,000 signatures to the Greek Embassy in Berlin, demanding a ban. In a recent victory, AIDA Cruises took a stand when it began informing passengers about the pervasive cruelty to the donkeys and mules. A Painful Pyramid Scheme A PETA Asia investigation uncovered jaw-dropping abuse of horses and camels compelled to carry visitors on their backs or in carriages at Egypt’s top destinations, including the pyramids of Giza, Luxor, and Saqqara. Starving, dehydrated horses are given no breaks from Egypt’s dangerously hot temperatures. Footage shows the animals’ knees buckling and their bodies giving out but people, sometimes groups of men, still viciously whipping and beating them. Camels scream as they’re hit with sticks, and many have blood gushing out of their noses. Seeing PETA Asia’s footage, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities promised to replace the animals at Giza with electric carts. But even though there are some mechanized vehicles there now, investigators still found suffering animals, including horses with broken legs who were trying

For the donkeys and mules trudging up the steep hills past the blue domes on the Greek island of Santorini, life is anything but a beach. PETA Germany’s video footage reveals that they’re deprived of water in the oppressive summer heat and outfitted with makeshift saddles and

Suffering for a Selfie From selfies with tiger cubs to elephant rides, animals are being treated like props and playthings. Alligators’ mouths are duct-taped shut, and birds’ wings are clipped for selfies. Dolphins are stuck in concrete pools and forced to swim with tourists. Elephants exploited for rides and other activities are kidnapped from their mothers as babies (hence the fake “orphanage” labels in Thailand) and tortured for weeks to teach them to be submissive. But years of campaigning by PETA India against elephant rides at Amber Fort are paying off: Thirteen were retired to a sanctuary, and a government committee recommended switching to electric vehicles.

blades, Tasered, or hit in the head with rocks when they don’t have the strength to carry yet another tourist up 900 crumbling steps to the monastery or on another sweltering 6-mile (10-km) trek across the rocky ground. Clinic staff work to educate owners, some of whom are children who should be in school, on humane animal care. PETA continues to push Jordanian authorities to take corrective action and is urging the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to push for the animals to be replaced with eco-friendly electric vehicles that can provide a living for Bedouin tribespeople and relief for the animals.

M ore than half a million animals to let visitors ride on them, handle them, swim with them, and pass them around in ways that are confusing, disturbing, frightening, and painful. Often they have undergone cruel training. PETA entities around the globe are working to liberate them, informing travelers that their help is essential, and asking them not to participate in any animal-based entertainment. worldwide are held captive and exploited in tourist attractions. They’re forced

sharp wire muzzles that cause bloody wounds and rub their skin raw. When they stumble or collapse from pain or exhaustion, they’re whipped or beaten until they stagger back to their feet. If they’re too weak or ill to carry on, they may simply be left to die. After PETA Germany exposed these abuses, Greece implemented minimal protections for the animals, but they aren’t even being enforced! PETA entities are keeping the pressure on. PETA Germany has filed criminal complaints against the animals’ owners and the government in order to instigate change, is running

Take Action Now None of these abusive operations can continue without tourist participation. Steer

clear of any animal attraction, and urge everyone you know to do the same. If you see abuse, post about it on TripAdvisor, and complain to tour groups!

I need a break IN INDIA

Global

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ATROCIOUS ATTRACTIONS

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