Work dries up for Jordan's donkeys as coronavirus cripples tourism

Herds of hard-working donkeys once carried hordes of tourists on the rocky paths of Jordan's Petra, but visitor numbers crashed amid the pandemic and the loyal animals are left without a job.

In 2019, the number of visitors to the UNESCO World Heritage site topped a million for the first time.

But in March 2020, the famous tourist destination was closed, and the crucial income from the tourists dried up.

 Visitor numbers crashed amid coronavirus and the loyal animals now face the chop.

Dependent on tourism

Before the pandemic, tourism made up more than a tenth of Jordan's GDP, but revenues slumped from $5.8 billion in 2019 to $1 billion last year, according to government figures.

Since Petra reopened in May, tourist numbers have been slow to rebound.

Only some 200 visitors a day come to Petra, compared to more than 3,000 before the pandemic hit, said Suleiman Farajat, heading the Petra Development and Tourism Regional Authority.

Farajat said some 200 guides used as many as 800 animals -- including horses, camels and mules as well as donkeys -- for tourist rides across the desert site.

The economic ripple effect of tourism was widespread.

 Jordanian horses and donkey owners take their animals to the PETA clinic.

Many donkey owners are turning to a clinic supported by the animal rights group PETA, where vets treat maltreated and malnourished donkeys for free.

 'Starving'

Egyptian vet Hassan Shatta, an equine surgery specialist who runs the PETA clinic, said he launched a donkey-feeding programme late last year.

In the past, PETA had treated animals with deep cuts from being beaten or abused, but Farajat, from Petra's tourism authority, says the working conditions of the donkeys is now "not that bad".

But there are plans to replace some of the traditional donkeys with a new system of 20 electric cars introduced by the tourism board next month.

The cars will be "driven by the animal owners," Farajat said.

 Herds of hard-working donkeys once carried hordes of tourists on the rocky paths of Jordan's Petra.

Switching to electric cars will, Farajat hopes, put an end to the criticisms against the mistreatment inflicted on animals.