Egypt crisis takes its toll on horses The country has suffered from falling visitor numbers since the Arab Spring and the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, and more recent upheavals have worsened the situation. The fall in income from holidaymakers has left many of Cairo's carriage drivers unable to feed their horses, which are used to pull carriages around an archaeological site that includes three pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx. "The fall in tourist numbers over the past few months has been bad enough for the horses working around the Pyramids but the recent political upheaval is the final straw," said Jeremy Hulme, chief executive of the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA), a British charity. It's heartbreaking that many of these horses are on the brink of starvation because their poor owners simply can't afford to feed them without the income generated from tourism. We're appealing for help to feed these forgotten victims of the crisis until political stability and tourism returns to Egypt. Egypt attracted around 11.5 million overseas tourists in 2012, up from 9.8 million in 2011, but still down from around 14 million in 2010. The areas hit hardest by the falling visitor numbers have been the ancient sites - the Red Sea resorts have remained fairly resilient. Telegraph Travel recently reported that during Easter - one of Egypt's peak periods for tourism - hotel occupancy rates in Luxor fell to just 17 per cent. Around one in eight Egyptian earn a living through tourism. SPANA, in association the Egyptian Society of Animal Friends, is launching an appeal for donations. See http://www.spana.org/egypt or call 0800 953 5781 for more information.