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Apart from our original clinic in Cairo which is still a busy treatment centre, there are five other clinics: Alexandria (opened in 1961), Luxor (1966), Edfu (1992), Aswan (1988), Mersah Matrouh (2000) and we opened a base in the Nile Delta (2006).
In 2006, the Luxor clinic was forced to move from its original site near the Temple of Karnak by the city council, which needed the site for archeological development. As a result the centre was moved to a new base in Kafr el Khataba, much closer to the places where the working animals live. The Brooke also introduced another mobile team - and increased the number of sites our teams visit each week to bring us closer to the animal owning community. The Brooke's work in Luxor is a real success story: we have been able to improve the condition and welfare of the carriage horses to such a degree, that we are now able to spend time visiting new areas, where the owners and horses desperately need our help. One area we have been visiting since 2003 is Qus on the outskirts of Luxor. This small market town has a huge population of donkeys.
Our recent expansion into the Nile Delta is a huge challenge as it is a vast, fertile agricultural area, and contains the highest concentration of working equine animals in Egypt. Following a welfare assessment in 2005, we found the condition of the animals to be very poor and certain problems were endemic. Over 80% of animals suffer eye infections and abnormalities. The Brooke has now started work through mobile teams and community clinics run by Community Animal Health Workers. |
