Scots vet on donkey mercy mission

Dr Pollock spent a week at the animal hospital in Egypt

A Scots vet swapped race horses for donkeys when he went to help at an equine charity hospital in Egypt.

Dr Patrick Pollock has just returned from a week-long trip sharing his skills with Egyptian vets.

The senior clinician in equine surgery at the University of Glasgow travelled to Luxor to help treat injured and badly burned horses, donkeys and mules.

The vet, who normally works with some of Scotland's top race horses, said he found the experience "quite humbling".

At the Animal Care Egypt (ACE) hospital he treated animals injured pulling carts laden with heavy loads.

The hospital, on the outskirts of Luxor, was set up by two British women and opened in 2000.

It treats about 20 to 30 horses, mules and donkeys a day, and sometimes as many as 100, as well as other animals.

The animal's owners often don't have the time or the money to rest their beasts and have them treated by vets, so the charity provides a vital service Dr Patrick Pollock

Many of the injuries are caused by ill-fitting tacks and saddles which rub and leave the animals with terrible sores which do not get a chance to heal as they have to continue working.

Dr Pollock said: "I work with some of Scotland's top race horses and spend a lot of time making these horses run faster.

"In Egypt there are donkeys weighing 100 kilos pulling one tonne of weight.

"By helping the animals you are helping their owners earn enough money to eat."

Source of income

The 32-year-old vet also saw animals that had been badly burnt after getting caught in sugar cane fields where the stumps are burned after the plant has been harvested, or hurt in fires in their stables.

He said: "Many of these animals are in a pretty bad state, but it is not through deliberate cruelty.

"These animals are often the main or only source of income and transport for people in developing countries and vital to their survival.

He added: "The animal's owners often don't have the time or the money to rest their beasts and have them treated by vets, so the charity provides a vital service."

The trip was organised through the British Equine Veterinary Association, which had been approached by ACE looking for vets to help with the continuing education of their staff.