Please enjoy this article from the latest issue of our magazine, PETA Global. To begin your subscription, become a PETA member today!
Holidays aren’t always happy occasions for animals – witness, for example, Spain’s San Fermín festival (aka “The Running of the Bulls”), in which dozens of panicked bulls are forced to stampede through the slippery streets of Pamplona before ending up in the bull ring with a knife in their back. The holy days of Eid al-Adha – during which people slit the throats of millions of animals, mostly lambs and goats, to commemorate Abraham’s sacrifice of a sheep – are another example. But this past Eid worked out well for the camels PETA calls the High Five.
They were spotted in the holy town of Varanasi, India, with their legs about to be bound and their mouths tied shut before being thrown to the ground and slaughtered. When PETA India and local activists called the police to remind them that camel sacrifice was illegal there, the handsome animals, who had probably been forced to give rides to tourists, escaped their doom.
Sick, Tired, and Hungry
Though no longer in imminent danger, Afzal, Arjun, Bhuriya, Karan, and Unmukt were exhausted and in terrible shape. Veterinarians with the PETA-supported relief organization Animal Rahat conducted blood tests on the High Five and discovered that they had varying degrees of liver and kidney damage as well as bacterial infections. Afzal and Karan had gaping, maggot infested wounds caused by wooden pegs that had been inserted into holes piercing their nasal septums. The pegs were attached to ropes that their owners used to pull them around.
It was a long journey to Animal Rahat’s sanctuary in Maharashtra, but the camels seemed to enjoy being transported rather than being forced to do the transporting themselves. At every stop, they got out and stretched their legs, ate leaves from the tops of peepal and neem trees, and rolled in the dirt. At their new home, they received antibiotics, painkillers, and other emergency treatment, along with nutrient-dense groundnut and cottonseed cakes to build up their strength. By the time you read this, they should be out of quarantine and settled in with the sanctuary’s resident
camels, Sameer, Simran, and Tracy – who also had to be nursed back to health after being rescued from circuses
where Animal Rahat inspections revealed rampant abuse.
Safe at last, they relish relaxing and being groomed by Animal Rahat staff.
Take Action Now
Afzal, Arjun, Bhuriya, Karan, and Unmukt need you! Please visit AnimalRahat.com to make a gift toward
their care and in support of all Animal Rahat’s work to improve the lives of animals in India.
