Animals ferrying tourists in Egypt abused and left to die

Horses and camels still suffer abuse and neglect near Egypt's tourist sites, including the Pyramids, says James C Reynolds

- James C Reynolds

Horses and camels used to ferry tourists in a major Egyptian tourist hotspot near the pyramids are being worked to death and dumped, an investigation has claimed.

Distressing video footage shared with The Independent shows animal corpses that campaigners say have been left to rot just outside the Great Pyramid complex in Giza, despite recent reforms for their protection.

The animal victims are used for tourist rides until their bodies wear out, according to the welfare group Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Some are left to die in the heat while others are "simply worked to death" and dumped near the Giza plateau, the group says.

The investigation by Peta Asia is the latest in a series of exposes on the dark underbelly of Egypt's tourist industry. The animal rights organisation warned that the opening of a major new archaeological museum nearby yesterday - the long-awaited $1bn Grand Egyptian Museum would bring huge numbers of tourists to the area and potentially put more animals at risk.

In the bleak footage, which The Independent has decided not to show, the bodies of horses are seen lying out among piles of rubbish in Cairo.