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My name is Katharine Hampton, and I'm a student at George Washington University (GWU). When I found out a GWU event known as "IsraelFest" used a camel as a visual prop, I was disturbed. This Israeli heritage-centered event aimed to celebrate culture, but forcing a camel to stand for hours on concrete in a tiny pen with no shade or space to rest isn’t festive; it's cruel.
The camel came from Leesburg Animal Park, a roadside zoo with many violations documented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Washington Post has listed this facility as one of the D.C. area's most problematic roadside zoos, yet GWU's administration endangered thousands of students by letting them bring an animal on campus. 😠 Camels under stress can lash out or transmit dangerous diseases like rabies. IsraelFest's poor decision put students, staff, and the camel at risk.
Camels are social, intelligent animals who walk many miles daily in nature, but the roadside zoo forced the camel used at IsraelFest into a trailer, carted them to our campus, and left them surrounded by loud crowds and strangers, all for the sake of a photo op. 😰 When I walked past the exhibit, I saw a seemingly depressed, overheated animal surrounded by phone cameras and loud noises. Meanwhile, the rest of the festival was perfectly engaging and popular with students without the cruel use of live animals. Animal exploitation has no place at GWU, which claims to value compassion, safety, and education.
Join peta2 and other compassionate students in urging GWU to ban the use of live animals at all campus events! Culture can be celebrated in ways that don't involve harming another being. Raise High, GWU, and let this be the last time any animal is used as a prop on our campus. 💪