Petra in Jordan is ... a UNESCO World Heritage site, and in 2007 was elected one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Vital to the tourist industry in the region are the 1350 donkeys and horses, which are kept in poor conditions, and have to transport visitors on their back or in carriages. The burdens they have to carry or pull are often much too heavy in relation to the animals’ diminutive size, and the working days are far too long. Many animals also have no shade from the sun, and insufficient regular fodder and water, quiet places, and veterinary care. They suffer from exhaustion, lameness, colic and incorrect diagnoses.

This is why the international animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS – together with the Jordanian Princess Alia Foundation (PAF) and the Petra tourist board (Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority – PDTRA) – has drawn up a project for the improvement of the health and working conditions of horses and donkeys in Petra. The two organisations and the tourist board will apply several measures to improve the working animals’ situation, and will finance the entire project. “We’re constructing stalls and water drainage systems, and we’re modernising an existing veterinary clinic”, explains Robert Hengl, project leader at FOUR PAWS. “We’re also providing medicines, medical equipment, and training for the local vets, blacksmiths and animal owners.”