No Water! A New Hellish Twist for Overworked Donkeys in the Desert
If you’ve ever visited the ancient desert city of Petra, Jordan, you’ve likely witnessed immense animal suffering. Gentle donkeys forced to haul tourists up 900 crumbling stone steps to the famed monastery are living a scorching, deadly nightmare with the government’s failure to fill the one and only water trough.
Staff at the PETA-supported veterinary clinic declared the situation an emergency, hired a water tanker, and filled the trough.
With temperatures soaring above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the trough had been bone-dry for two weeks. Dehydration is a huge problem for these working donkeys, as is searingly painful colic and potentially fatal heatstroke unless we can get the government to act now.
Some handlers have been taking parched donkeys to the only other water source they can find—a distant spot on the road into Petra that’s teeming with leeches who can get into the animals’ mouths and cause not just discomfort but also respiratory distress.
Despite appeals and a formal letter from PETA, authorities have failed to remedy the situation. But clinic staff members are doing all they can to help these suffering animals and ensure that they have access to clean water.
How You Can Help Animals in Petra
Travelers anywhere in the world should be careful to avoid any activities that exploit animals and only support travel companies that swiftly remove such cruel attractions from their offerings. The donkeys, camels, horses, and other animals still used as if it were another century deserve compassion and peace as much as any human being. Until meaningful change is achieved, these nightmarish emergencies will continue.
The PETA-supported veterinary clinic in Petra is a lifeline for suffering animals. Please make a gift to our Global Compassion Fund to allow this and other vital work to continue in order to provide relief to desperate animals.
