Horses starve to demise as pandemic hits Bangladesh tourism

Issued on: 30/05/2021 – 15:26

Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh) (AFP)

More than 20 horses starved to death in Bangladesh’s most popular vacation spot in just a month, pet owners said Sunday as the country’s tourism industry was hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic.

The South Asian nation of 168 million people is battling a new wave of coronavirus infections that has expanded its healthcare system and triggered a nationwide lockdown.

The horse’s owners said they were struggling to afford food for their animals, which is used for tourist rides on Cox’s Bazar Beach – one of the longest in the world.

“As soon as the coronavirus hit, tourist numbers … dropped sharply,” Farida Begum, spokeswoman for the Cox’s Bazar Horse Owners Association, told AFP.

“We’re fighting to make ends meet. How can we feed the horses?”

Tourists had briefly returned to the district from December to February when infections slowed, but visits dried up under the new lockdown, which began on April 14.

At least 21 of up to 90 horses used for tourists on the beach died last month while others were emaciated, Begum said.

41 horses – including eight of Begum’s own – died during last year’s lockdown, she added.

Some owners have released their horses in hopes that they can survive by eating grass or foraging for food.

The horse owners say they have struggled to support their own families and many have borrowed from micro-lenders to make ends meet.

“Micro-lender officials come to my home every week and ask me to repay the loan in installments. But if the tourists don’t get to Cox’s Bazar, I can’t repay the money,” Begum said, adding that she had borrowed 100,000 taka (1,200 USD).

Dozens of horse guides, usually hired by the owners to help tourists ride out, have switched to rickshaws or construction.

– “No tourists mean no income” –

The resort usually attracts more than two million mostly local tourists each year.

As part of the nationwide closure, offices and markets will be closed and public transport will be suspended.

Horse owner Sarwar Azam told AFP that one of his animals died last week and the second was also hungry.

The head of a local horse-owning organization, Nishan Ahsan, whose four animals died during the lockdown last year, said its members had received limited government assistance.

“During the peak tourist season, a horse can make up to 2,000 taka ($ 23) a day. We’d put some of that income aside for the expensive horse feed,” Ahsan told AFP.

“But no tourists mean no income for us.”

Cox’s Bazar government administrator Sumaiya Akter said she had heard of only four to five dying horses in the past eight months.

She added that since May 9, the government had given the owners 146 bags of bowls and 20 cans of molasses.

Bangladesh has recorded nearly 800,000 coronavirus infections and more than 12,300 deaths since the pandemic began. However, experts believe the actual numbers are likely to be much higher.

Just over six percent of the population have received their first dose of vaccine while the government has said it has run out of bumps to tackle the recent devastating virus wave.

© 2021 AFP