{"id":13201,"date":"2018-08-29T21:34:38","date_gmt":"2018-08-29T21:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=13201"},"modified":"2018-08-29T21:34:38","modified_gmt":"2018-08-29T21:34:38","slug":"egypts-animal-rights-activists-tackle-pet-shops-of-horror","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=13201","title":{"rendered":"Egypt\u2019s animal rights activists tackle pet shops of horror"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nCAIRO: A group of animal rights activists have come together to take on the woeful conditions in Egypt\u2019s pet shops, in a country notorious for the ill-treatment of animals. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\nThe campaign started in May, when a social media post about a Husky dog that died outside a Cairo pet shop caught the attention of Arielle El-Bagory.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nSoon after, another activist, Leila Gheita called for action after a cat died in similar conditions in a nearby shop.<\/p>\n

\nEl-Bagory and Gheita combined forces and started calling on people to join them in approaching\u00a0\u00a0pet shops.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSixty people showed up and all were interested in taking this further so Leila and I started the group on Facebook,\u201d El-Bagory told Arab News. \u201cIdeally we hope to close down the pet shops that keep animals in horrific conditions, which sadly is most of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nPet Shop Watch Egypt now has more than 1,500 members committed to tackling the inhumane treatment of animals in pet shops. The group organizes regular visits to different shops around the country, with members bringing food and water for the animals, as well as making demands to move animals out of the sun during the hot summer days and improve the conditions of the cages animals are kept in.<\/p>\n

\nWhile some shops have been cooperative at first, group members complain that these changes are not maintained.<\/p>\n

\nEgypt\u2019s record on animal abuse has been in the spotlight in recent years.<\/p>\n

\nThe Gezira Sporting Club, popular among Cairo\u2019s wealthier residents, sparked outrage in 2014 when a security guard caught someone leaving the club with a bag full of dead cats, apparently beaten and poisoned to death in an attempt to control their numbers.<\/p>\n

\nIn February the following year, a video of three men brutally torturing and killing a dog in the street went viral.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\nUntil recently, Egypt\u2019s constitution did not contain any laws for the protection or welfare of animals, with the exception of animals used for agriculture. This was extended in 1982 to include domesticated animals like dogs and cats. An amendment in 2014 was introduced for the protection of the environment, including the \u201cprevention of cruelty to animals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nHowever, penalties for breaking these laws are still limited to a maximum of six months in prison, and a fine not exceeding 200 Egyptian pounds ($11).<\/p>\n

\nAccording to a 2014 report by World Animal Protection, Egypt obtained an \u201cF\u201d ranking on the Animal Protection Index, with \u201cG\u201d being the lowest. The report stated that the country\u2019s \u201cexisting legislation presents an imprecise framework of protection.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nThis, in addition to a lack of serious penalties, means that protection of animals is often inadequate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nThere are currently three government bodies in Egypt related to animal welfare, The Ministry of Agriculture and the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, both responsible for legislation, and the General Organization for Veterinary Services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nThe latter, in collaboration with local police, has organized the culling of Egypt\u2019s stray animals, with graphic photographs and videos being circulated of them torturing and poisoning large numbers of street dogs and cats.<\/p>\n

\nThe organization is also ment to be used by\u00a0\u00a0people in Egypt to report the inhumane treatment of animals.<\/p>\n

\nEl-Bagory said one of their success stories was when they shared a photo of a Macaw parrot in a sorry state at the Rehab Animal Park in Cairo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nEnough people complained to the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, that the birds were confiscated and transferred to improved conditions at Giza Zoo.<\/p>\n

\nThe group is still trying to find the best approach for dealing with non-exotic animals, as the laws do not cover domesticated animals in captivity.<\/p>\n

\nWith so few governmental organizations playing an active part in the protection of animals, it is left to groups like Pet Shop Watch Egypt to take the lead.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe are trying our best to use public pressure, as well as following the legal avenues to report these shops,\u201d El-Bagory said. \u201cOne of the things we hope to achieve is to convince buyers to boycott those that sell animals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nThe group has also tried to educate shop owners and employees in an effort to reduce the number of animals suffering. They distribute pamphlets that discuss the proper treatment of animals, as well as excerpts from the Quran that encourage kindness and mercy towards animals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nPoverty and a lack of education are two major factors that play a role in the welfare of animals in Egypt.<\/p>\n

\nKatie McManus, an English teacher and member of Pet Shop Watch Egypt, joined the group knowing that the country faces a significant problem.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIt\u2019s mostly down to lack of education,\u201d McManus said. \u201cIf pets are going to be your business, you should be informed about how to properly care for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nAbu Bakr, a 38-year-old employee at one of the pet shops visited by members of Pet Shop Watch Egypt, showed his frustration at the way they were approached by the activists, saying he felt the rights of the animals were of more importance than his own.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThey were very aggressive with us, most of them using offensive or irritating language,\u201d Abu Bakr said. \u201cThey wouldn\u2019t treat a dog the way they treated us. They come and yell about animal rights, but what about human rights? I am walked all over on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nAbu Bakr\u2019s sentiments are shared by many Egyptians, who see the plight of animals as secondary to their own deeply-rooted and pervasive struggles.<\/p>\n

\nHe explained that if he had been approached calmly he would be more willing to listen. \u201cIn the end this is a business. Even if I work here because I love animals, the aim is to make a profit. If someone comes and gives me advice on how to do my job better, I\u2019m happy to listen,\u201d he said. \u201cWe cleaned up the cages and stopped selling dogs completely because they were difficult to keep clean.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe only dog we keep is mine,\u201d he said, pointing to a dog lying down on the road outside the shop, \u201cfor breeding.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CAIRO: A group of animal rights activists have come together to take on the woeful conditions in Egypt\u2019s pet shops, in a country notorious for the ill-treatment of animals. \u00a0 The campaign started in May, when a social media post about a Husky dog that died outside a Cairo pet shop caught the attention of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":13202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle_east_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}