Donkeys

The streets of Luxor are full of donkeys straining under loads that are much too heavy.  The tracks outside the town are no different.  Over the last 20 years the world's donkey population has increased by nearly 16%.  Egypt has had its share of this growth.

A donkey can be overloaded with sugar cane and other agricultural products, with heavy sacks, with virtually anything.  The work is backbreaking.

Donkey carts are laden with literally anything from sacks of cement to heavy gas cylinders.  Donkeys strain to pull these burdens and, of course are "encouraged" by beatings with thick sticks.

It is also common to see someone perched on the shaft to add to the load and make it uneaven on the donkeys back.

The sun is scorching, there is no water, the diet is inadequate, the strain on the muscles is relentless, the harness rubs on open sores, and there is no time for rest.  In Egypt, donkeys truly know the meaning of 'donkey work'.

Here, in Luxor, donkeys are treated mainly as machines, not as living, feeling creatures.  There is no awareness that donkeys need "maintenance" and not just attention when they breakdown.

Donkeys are routinely beaten, overworked, and underfed.  They need hoof and teeth treatment and worming.  They are increasingly injured in traffic accidents, suffer harness sores, and sometimes have lacerated mouths caused by bits that would result in prosecutions for cruelty in the UK and other countries.

Even when donkeys are not working, they are rarely at rest.  Boys ride them for pleasure after work and at festivals; when they are left alone, they are hobbled, or tied up.  This means they do not enjoy full freedom of movement and the hobbling itelf can cause serious injury.

In the long term, education is the answer.  We are trying to teach all donkey owners in a way that matters and that they will understand; that beating a donkey will shorten its life and its value will depreciate, that by increasing its food it will be stronger and more valuable.  The streets of Egypt are full of donkeys being beaten for no reason other than they have ignorant handlers.  For the sake of the donkeys, we have to educate them.