The disturbing video shows camels tethered on ropes only a few feet long with no shelter in the midst of a severe sandstorm, camels forced to haul tourists all day in the sweltering heat, and a man repeatedly beating a tied-up camel with a long stick as the animal struggles to avoid the blows. One ride operator told investigators that camels – who can live up to 40 years – can only be used for around five years, after which time they are killed or sold for meat.
Camels are intelligent, social beings with their own needs, wants, and interests. When free to roam in their natural habitat, they live in herds and communicate with each other through sounds and body movements. As a sign of friendship, camels will sometimes blow on each other’s faces. But in the tourist industry, these animals endure lifetimes of misery and suffering.
“Camels used by the Moroccan tourist industry are beaten mercilessly, tied up without a bit of shade, and ridden until their bodies break down,” says PETA Senior Vice President Jason Baker. “PETA urges travelers not to give their money to these cruel and deadly operations and never to ride animals in Morocco or anywhere else.”
Global Pattern of Cruelty
Previous PETA investigations into camel- and horse-riding operations in Egypt found similar abuse: Animals were beaten bloody, forced to carry people in blistering heat without shade or water, and dumped like garbage or sent to slaughter when they were too old, sick, or injured to be useful. Airbnb, Klook, Marriott, and many other companies agreed to stop promoting animal rides at the pyramids of Giza after hearing from PETA.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”– points out that Every Animal is Someone.
