Progress! Electric Carts Will Replace Horse-Drawn Carriages at Petra, All Thanks to PETA

After PETA’s investigations revealing that animals are beaten and abused to give tourists rides around the Petra Archaeological Park in Jordan and pressure from concerned people like you around the world, horse-drawn carriages will soon be no more at the historic site.

From next month, the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority will launch a fleet of 10 eco-friendly electric vehicles to replace the horse-drawn carriages that previously ferried tourists around the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

More Needs to Be Done for Petra’s Animals

While horses will soon no longer be forced to pull heavy carriages on grueling treks through the ancient city of Petra multiple times a day, horses, mules, and donkeys are still forced to climb 900 steps up to the monastery and down again with visitors on their backs multiple times a day in the scorching heat.

Last year, Egypt announced plans to ban camel and horse rides around the Giza pyramids and in the archaeological areas. The news followed more than a year of pressure from PETA, which included meetings with government officials, as well as from nearly 500,000 concerned people like you, who contacted Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism, urging it to ban animal rides at the country’s top tourist sites. Visitors to Giza will soon be able to use electric cars and buses, as recommended by PETA, instead of riding animals.

We will continue to urge officials in Jordan to do more and use modern vehicles at Petra instead of animals to carry tourists around.

PETA’s Helping the ‘Working Animals’ of Petra

After we revealed shocking abuse of animals at Petra, officials gave us permission to open a PETA-supported clinic to provide the injured, abused, and neglected animals there with medical treatment.

The veterinary clinic, located just outside the park, is the only facility offering free emergency medical treatment to hundreds of injured and abused donkeys, horses, mules and camels forced to give rides to tourists. Over 3,000 animals have already been treated since the clinic began.

Animals used for rides and other working animals at Petra endure extremely difficult lives. The only way to put an end to their suffering is for all animals to be removed from the park and replaced with mechanized vehicles.

Please join PETA in applauding the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority on Twitter and Facebook for replacing horse-drawn carriage rides with electric carts at Petra: