The Havasupai Trail Is Hell for Horses and Mules
Visitors to Havasupai Falls in the Grand Canyon go there to hike, explore, and take in the natural beauty of the area. But for years, they’ve been reporting the beating and suffering of animals used for packing along the grueling 20-mile hike, including horses collapsing and dying, animals suffering with open wounds, and horses and mules being whipped and yelled at by handlers.
Horses and mules are forced to carry heavy loads of tourist gear up and down steep and rocky trails in all weather extremes, sometimes slipping and even reportedly falling over the edge. When these animals aren’t toiling on the trail, visitors see them tied up outside with no shade from the blazing sun and some without even access to water.
A Grueling, Sometimes Fatal Trek
PETA eyewitness footage shows that this is systemic abuse. Animals were seen being forced to carry heavy loads up and down steep trails with an incline of up to 19 degrees. Horses and mules were found with sores and scars, while others limped or had overgrown hooves. Some were underweight, including a young horse whose ribs were visible. Many were confined to pens littered with trash, while others were tethered without any shelter.
PETA eyewitnesses saw horses whipped and mules slipping on the icy, muddy trail, and many animals were left sweating and panting from the arduous journey. One wrangler even admitted that animals sometimes fall off the trail.
Animals Suffer on the Havasupai Trail
Travelers continue to share their horrifying experiences on TripAdvisor, echoing these concerns:
“I witnessed horrific cruelty and neglect of these Havasupai horses……..tied while overloaded with supplies and gear for several hours with no shelter or shade from the intense Arizona sun, no water, bloody burns and untreated wounds from abrasive ropes and pack lines.” —Kim C
“The animals are skinny, go without proper water and food all for your enjoyment. I didn’t know this until I was already hiking in the canyon. And this behavior has been going on for years, it’s absolutely horrible.” —Larissa023
“As much as I wanted to love it, witnessing what the poor pack animals were going through was awful, and all I could think of was the suffering and how I was supporting it by being there. It’s something you can’t forget and until something is done about this it’s truly not worth it.” —HeidiKS93
How to Help Horses and Mules
This abuse will continue as long as people use animals to pack gear, so PETA’s reminding everyone to carry their own gear when visiting the Havasupai Canyon, and not to contribute to these animals’ suffering.
