For Immediate Release:
September 8, 2023
Contact:
Brittney Williams 202-483-7382
Watertown, Mass. – Following communications from PETA about how camels used to carry tourists around the pyramids of Giza are beaten and abused in other ways, locally based travel company AdventureWomen is removing references to the exploitative rides from its website and confirmed that it will no longer promote them going forward. In thanks, PETA is sending the company delicious vegan chocolates.
The move follows a recent video exposé from PETA Asia showing that camels used for rides at the pyramids of Giza and other top Egyptian tourist attractions are beaten bloody, yanked by the nose, forced to walk on their knees, and tied up. Their legs are tied tightly together to prevent the animals from moving or escaping, and some camels are tied to the backs of vehicles and dragged through the dirt. When they become too worn out to be used for rides, they’re sold and slaughtered for meat.
“A major win for animals, AdventureWomen’s new policy encourages tourists to experience the splendor of the pyramids without climbing onto the backs of abused camels,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is applauding AdventureWomen for taking a stand for animals and urges other tourism companies to follow its lead.”
A camel abused in Giza’s tourism industry. Credit: PETA Asia.
PETA Asia is calling on the governor of Giza to investigate the traders who have been caught abusing camels and urging Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to remove animal rides from the Giza site.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.
