Animal rights activist Mostafa Abdel Aty founded a special organisation, called Meow Tours, aiming to raise awareness about animal rights in Egypt, and give the people an opportunity to help out animals in their communities.

Meow Tours wants to increase the public’s empathy towards animals, particularly stray animals, and teach the people not to harm animals under the slogan, “If you don’t love them, leave them alone”.

“There is no reason for any animal to attack, unless it was harmed or provoked, so we spread awareness of animal rights and how to deal with them,” Abdel Aty said.

We also organise visits to animal shelters, which are numerous, including in Abu Sir, taking to the streets to feed cats and dogs in Cairo’s Maadi and Downtown, and Alexandria.

The initiative is charitable and make use of people’s support, whether by supplying food or playing with the animals.

In regards to Meow Tours’ 2020 plan, Abdel Aty said, “We have held 18 events within nine months, and we hope that the number of volunteers will grow and our events increase. I also hope to create a permanent team of the initiative.”

“Many people volunteered with us despite they had animal phobia, but they were able to overcome their fears and could play with dogs until they were fully comfortable with animals. I hope that we can reach out more people to change the society’s culture in dealing with animals,” he added.

Photos by Mahmoud Fekry