TOURISM AND BRUTALITY IN EGYPT

Egypt prides itself on being a top tourism destination. Animal abuse and zoo brutality should change traveler's minds.

No Love for the Environment? No Lovely Tourists

It has been said that the true test of any civilized society, like Egypts, is its treatment of the environment and the animals that inhabit the land. If thats true, and I believe it is, Egypt fails the test miserably each and every day. Im not only talking about the garbage, polluted water and air in every neighborhood, but Im also talking about the consistently barbaric acts committed against animals in Egypt day after day that go unpunished by the government.

Do tourists notice the brutality? Of course they do. Does Egypts total lack of respect for the environment actually impact tourism? Of course it does. Westerners, disgusted by the sight of such brutality, consistently return to their home country eager to share the animal brutality in Egypt. A warning to friends and family to rethink their vacation plans if they dont want to see a dead donkey floating in the Giza canals, people using the outdoors as their personal trash can and toilet, or a group of young boys sadistically smashing a puppy against a wall. NOT a photo opportunity.

Ecotourism is on the rise-yes-even in the Middle East. Jordan has developed two wildlife sanctuaries and is working hard to reintroduce endangered species into their natural habitats. Americans and Europeans continue to increase their desire to visit destinations that support and protect the environment. "Skip the Brutality. Visit Jordan, not Egypt" could well be the next advertising campaign. Guess what Egypt? It will work! What would you rather see as a tourist? A wildlife sanctuary or the sadistic treatment of animals unpunished by authorities? Make your choice.

Its puzzling. Egypt does nothing to stop the brutality. Egypt doesnt seem to make the connection between a healthy environment and healthy tourism. And so...

A government that once worshipped cats now sits idly by as groups of teenage boys bury them up to their necks in the sand and smash their heads with rocks. Long-term Western residents encourage boabs to brutally poison or shoot stray cats and dogs apparently forgetting that this act would be illegal in their own country. Egpytians and Western residents alike seem to forget that without the stray cats and yes dogs, the rodents in this country would feed off the garbage left on the streets and their numbers would spiral out of control speading disease and invading even the nicest neighborhoods and villas.

Donkeys, the transportation means by which thousands can sell their goods in order to feed their families, are openly tortured and beaten by their owners who dont seem to make the connection that a healther animal would live longer thus allowing the owner to sell goods longer.

Horses whipped despite open, infected sores and whose loads are so overbearing that their legs and joints are destroyed much earlier than necessary thus making the animal unfit for work.

"Vets" who practice without a license or proper training and who mutilate, kill, and sell animals.

Pet shops that house animals in cages so small that the animal develops open sores from rotting in its own feces.

And perhaps most pathetic--Zoo "caretakers" who poke and jab any animal hoping to entice a reaction worthy of a few pounds of baksheesh and who refuse to treat animals for obvious infection and chronic disease. A zoo is supposed to be a tourist attraction. A zoo is supposed to be a place where a country demonstrates its total love for the environment and its commitment for the life of species. The Cairo Zoo demonstrates a hatred for the environment and a total disregard for the memories of tourists who naively visit unprepared for the disgusting sites that await them once inside.

How does a society "develop" to the point where rich 20-somethings can sit and enjoy a drink at a café while animals are barbarically housed by a "vet" just a meter away in the cold, winter air as is the case in Heliopolis? How does a society "develop" where adults allow themselves and their children to toss litter on the streets as if the land were their own personal garbage bin? How does a society "develop" to the point where gangs of young boys consistently torture, mutilate and kill the most innocent of animals? How does a society "develop" when government soldiers, police and citizens choose to look the other way rather than deal with the problem.

Simple. It doesnt develop. It never develops. It regresses.

Abusing the environment can only lead to one outcome-disease. Egypt has set itself on a collision course with sickness as it continues to abuse and destroy its surroundings. It cant be too long before Egypts lack of respect for the environment and animals finds its way into the population-where people will show the same lack of respect for eachother and where people are ravaged by destructive diseases.

Try selling that package to a tourist or travel agent.
No love for the environment. No tourism. Its very simple.

Rebecca Chandler
Tourist

Atrocities at the Cairo, Egypt Zoo

The USA and other countries continue to pour millions of dollars into Egypt ignoring the state of the environment and animals. The USA and other contributing countries should be held responsible for the brutality that infests Cairos streets, neighborhoods and zoos. The story below is just one of many that must be publicized if animals are to be saved.

I visited the zoo at the beginning of November 2002 and again on the 13th January 2003 and was even more horrified at the conditions in which the poor animals are forced to live.

In November I was allowed to hold a lion cub which was very lethargic and emaciated and its eyes looked glazed. There were two cubs which were kept apart in dark, dirty cages. Only one of the cubs was taken out, the other was a little livelier. The "keeper" told me they were two months old but I was sure they were older. The poor animal was being starved so that it could be held by vistiors to the zoo and was a means of extra income for the so called keepers.

When I went to the zoo on the 13th Jan., I was shocked at the deterioration of the lion cub. It tried to growl when the "keeper" lifted it up but it was too weak to stop him . It was terribly thin and had the glazed look in its eyes. Its face was scarred and wounded. The "keeper" told me again that it was two months old, I said that it was impossible as I had seen it two months ago and it more than two months old even then. There was only one lion cub so I suspect that the one I held in November had died and this was its sibling. It also looked as if it was dying. Im sure it wont be there the next time I go back to check on it. It is heartbreaking to see these beautiful animals being subjected to this torture! I told the man that he was starving it but he just ignored me.

They have an African elephant in a large caged area but is kept on a short chain attached to its leg. I asked why it was chained as the compound seemed secure enough but was told that it was to protect the people who get too close when they are allowed to feed it.( for a tip) There are two Indian elephants also on short chains but they are kept in an open area. I saw a "keeper" hit one of them on the face with a stick.

Most of the big cats are kept indoors again to benefit the "keepers" financially as they make them perform by poking them or by using other means.

They have a black panther and two pumas kept inside dirty, smelly dark rooms. They only get to see daylight when visitors are taken in to see them, then a window is opened. When leaving they expect a tip.

The Egyptian government must hear from Westerners, particularly tourists, if they are to stop these practices. The only voice they hear is the voice of tourism dollars being effected.