The incident which took place earlier this month, was filmed by a fellow animal rights activist from Germany who was there to document rights abuses around the pyramids.
“I don’t think fighting violence with violence is the smartest thing to do but it’s the only thing I could do at that moment,” she tells The Telegraph of the incident. “He’s taller and stronger than me and old enough to know right from wrong.”
Van der Post shared the video, taken near the Giza pyramids, and says she was not expecting such a high degree of coverage for abuse which, compared to the brutality against horses she sees on a daily basis, was “very light”.
However, the dramatic footage has caused uproar in Egypt where nationalists have called for her deportation, and hundreds have given her death threats by phone, email and in person. According to van der Post, these have included statements such as “don’t leave your house, we know where you are” and “you racist, we will make sure you get killed or deported but you won’t be allowed to walk on Egyptian soil”.
She said the incident has been hijacked by a radical minority with its own agenda: “It’s not about nationalism. It’s about animal welfare and I was just stepping in to stop abuse, it’s about me standing up for a donkey.
“I can’t leave home alone now, it’s not safe,” she said, after hiring security for both the Good Karma Sanctuary which she founded in 2023 to provide assistance to sick and injured horses in Egypt, and her home in Cairo, where she has lived for over two years.
After the video went viral, the teenager filed a complaint against the activist claiming “psychological damage”. Both he and van der Post were arrested last Wednesday and held at the Al Haram Police Station for two days while police investigated the case. The teenager demanded £200,000 in compensation, claiming her actions brought shame to both him and his family in Egypt.
“I earn €400 a month, but they see foreigners and think ‘money, money, money’,” says van der Post. “I will go to jail if a judge decides that’s my punishment but I won’t pay money to an animal abuser.”
Egyptian prosecutors eventually decided that there was no criminal case, but the teenager has now filed a civil case against van der Post, which is still being evaluated.
“Since the video I’ve had more donations than usual for the sanctuary and people have come forward offering help for legal fees but it’s the same people donating for the horses and I don’t want to take the money away from the horses,” she explained. “If all this raises awareness to their cause, I would say sitting in jail for a year is worth it.”
Millions of tourists visit Egypt every year to see the country’s iconic pyramids in Giza, often being offered horses to ride as part of the experience. According to van der Post, these horses often suffer from open saddle-sores which never get treated, with others made to carry tourists while lame.
“The tourists are causing this mistreatment,” she explained. “They’re riding on these terribly wounded horses. It’s the same thing as riding elephants in Thailand now. We need to get the same awareness as what happened there.”
Last October, animal charity Peta’s report on animals used at the ancient Egyptian landmark said “sick, injured or starving horses and camels are often abandoned by carriage operators who treat them like disposable tools”.
A new, animal-free transportation system is being planned with electric buses under the National Programme for the Care and Protection of Horses, Camels, and Pets at Archaeological Sites, but has been met with a backlash from locals, who rely on the animals for a living.
“This programme could mark a positive change, although it’s too early to tell whether it will be truly impactful or merely a response to pressure,” Peta’s statement said. It followed the group’s 2019 investigation into top Egyptian holiday spots in Giza and Luxor. It found that “workers whip exhausted horses forced to haul tourists in carriages and camels who were used as photo props”. The group said horses “are constantly hungry and tired and are denied veterinary care for wounds and injuries”.
With the possibility of change and new legislation, the Dutch activist said she hopes deportation will not be an option. “I’d hate to be deported because we are on the cusp of possible change, thanks to minister of tourism and antiquities, Sherif Fathy, and Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Alaa Farouk, and the new programme. I still feel I have so much to do here.”
- Daily Telegraph UK
