CAIRO: The bones protrude from their skin, which has been stretched thin from a lack of food and care. A group of horses stand to the side as a group of tourists haggle over a price to ride around Egypt's Giza Pyramids. The state of the horses' health is not a topic. “They [the horses] are in great health,” began one of the stable workers, as he slapped one of the animals and off went the group of Eastern European travelers. “It is normal for horses to have their bones showing,” he added and quickly walked off, waving his hand that no more questions would be asked. Here, at the many stables that surround Egypt's most famous ancient site, horses are facing an ever-pressing fate as tourism numbers dwindle and the money that had gone to pay for their well-being continues to be reduced. According to Yussif Ramadan, a 49-year-old stable owner a stones throw from the entrance to the Great Pyramid, without tourism there is not enough money to deliver adequate food and health to the animals. “We are all struggling because no tourists are coming in large numbers like they did,” he said, adding that “the government has promised us some assistance, but have not given us anything yet.” It is not a convincing argument, however, as the Eastern Europeans had just paid $100 each to ride the animals around the pyramid complex for a few hours. According to Ramadan, “this is not the typical price, but we do make a good living.” What about the animals then? Ramadan and others argue that the horses are there “to serve the people and as long as they are alive and not dying it is enough,” but refused to talk about the overall health apparatus of the animals, saying simply “they are good.” With the drop in tourism in Egypt, the horses are becoming victims of a lack of revenue coming into these stables, said the Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals (ESMA). “Stable owners rely on the tourism market as their primary source of income. No tourists equals no money to put bread on the table, let alone feed in a horse's or donkey's stall,” the group wrote following the uprising. Today, nearly 7 months on from the protest movement that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak, the emaciated horses continue to face hardship and are not receiving proper medical attention. ESMA is one of the few organizations in the country focused on getting assistance to animals across the country. They have delivered grain, bran, maize and chaff for the horses. However, that was months ago, and the situation now is even more dire than it has been in Egypt. Tourists are now beginning to complain of the poor situation facing Egyptian horses used for human entertainment. “It is very sad what is happening,” said Farah Ali, a British-Pakistani tourist who recently visited Egypt after having lived in the country in 2003-2004. “I used to go riding at dawn around the pyramids, but now it is really hard to look at the animals and think it is all right.” Stable owners have been pushed to increase the amount of veterinary care to the animals, but have rebuked attempts to allow animal welfare organizations' assistance. “Along with no food for the animals, veterinary care has also been absent. Stable owners brought horses to ESMA with open wounds on their back, obviously infected,” said the group. It is not the first time horses have been documented facing difficulties. Following the uprising, reports began to surface across the country that revealed owners simply left the animals to die in fields. in Nazlet el-Saman some 20 miles north of the capital Cairo were gruesome, horrifying and simply wrong. Horses, still tethered to trees, were left for dead by their owners, whose neglect was in favor of joining street protests across the country. The UK's Daily Telegraph published the images of the area, with one horse sprawled on the ground dead, still tied to the tree. The other two horses next to it were to follow soon, their ribs protruding out of their skin. The deaths could easily have been avoided. When the photographer panned back, dozens of horses were on the ground, having starved to death because no person decided to feed them, give them water or simply let them go. It is only part of the image now coming out of Egypt's revolution and the poor treatment of animals during the past three weeks. Without food and water these horses and massive numbers of other animals across the country, met a horrifyingly painful death. Across Egypt, animals were literally thrown to the trash. ESMA documented cats and dogs, their carcasses, being tossed into trash containers after they were stampeded to death by protesters and police. Others simply dropped their animals off at the organization's now over-populated shelter. Nasser said they are doing their best in order to maintain the over 600 animals they are now caring for. Back at the stable, the tourists return, one of the horses limping into its container, where it munches on the small amount of feed available. The tourists are all smiles, and as the owners count the money, there is no mention of the horses' health. They are tied up and left to wait for the next batch of riders. BM
