Victory! Marriott Is Removing Tours With Animal Rides at the Giza Pyramids
Marriott makes a monumental move! After meeting with PETA, the world’s largest hotel group is removing tours and activities involving camel and horse rides at the Giza pyramid complex—a huge win for animals. The company joins more than 50 other travel businesses. Compassionate travelers have long known that forcing animals to give rides is cruel. This decision deserves a standing ovation—and a joyful bellow or whinny.
Why Marriott (and Over 50 Other Compassionate Companies) Say Enough Is Enough
PETA Asia’s investigations of Egypt’s historic site uncovered:
- Handlers violently beating exhausted animals
- Malnourished horses scavenging through garbage, desperate for food
- Dead horses discarded like trash
- Workers hauling camels to a slaughterhouse, where their throats were slit while they were still alive. One camel continued to kick for four agonizing minutes after a worker sliced his neck open.
By dropping animal rides at the pyramids, Marriott is saying enough is enough. And they’re in good company. Airbnb, Abercrombie & Kent Travel Group, British Airways Holidays, easyJet holidays, Exodus Adventure Travels, Grand Circle Corporation, Scott Dunn, TCS World Travel, and many more have all confirmed they don’t promote or sell animal rides at the pyramids.
Behind Every Ride Is a Life of Misery
Camels are intelligent, sensitive animals who form close family bonds. Mothers hum softly to their babies and stay together for life. They talk to each other through groans, bellows, and even sharp huffs that send spit flying. Camels can live up to 40 years, but many spend their lives in misery, deprived of freedom and dignity, when exploited for tourism.
Horses, too, are emotional and empathetic. They grieve the loss of family members and bond deeply with their children. Mothers “sing” to their foals and speak through subtle cues—ear twitches, eye shifts, the flare of a nostril. But there’s no subtlety in their suffering when workers force them to drag carriages under Egypt’s relentless sun, day after day, dehydrated, exhausted, and often injured.
YOU can take action by never participating in tourism involving animals—including camel and horse-drawn carriage rides—even if the company or “sanctuary” promises they don’t harm animals.
Please urge Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to ban camel rides and horse-drawn carriages, and companies not to sell tickets.
