James Cromwell Urges Egyptian Government to End Rampant Abuse of Horses and Camels

For Immediate Release:
November 20, 2024

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Legendary actor and Academy Award nominee James Cromwell has sent an urgent letter to the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt Sherif Fathy calling on him to take immediate action to end the widespread abuse of camels and horses who are forced to haul tourists at the pyramids in the sweltering heat.

In the letter, Cromwell notes that the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities promised meaningful changes after a 2019 PETA exposé first revealed egregious animal abuse at the country’s top tourist sites. Yet PETA Asia’s latest investigation documented that handlers violently whipped exhausted horses in front of the tourists they had been forced to haul in the blistering sun—with no access to food, rest, adequate shade, or proper veterinary care. Injured and malnourished horses were seen eating from garbage dumps, and the bodies of dead horses were found discarded every day at trash sites outside the pyramids of Giza.

“When their bodies give out, these gentle, sensitive animals are left to die and their bodies are dumped in the piles of trash just behind the pyramid complex,” writes Cromwell. “Egypt is a magical place with so much to see and experience, but no one wants to have cruelty to animals included in their travel plans. Please end the suffering at the pyramids now.”

PETA’s latest video exposé revealed that market traders punched camels and beat the animals with batons and that one trader threw sand into a camel’s face. A dead camel was tied by their feet to a truck and dragged through the streets, and another was found dead in the middle of a road with their throat slashed open. When camels were no longer considered useful, they were often hauled to a slaughterhouse, where their throats were slit while they were still conscious.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.