on their labor.
Fez Medina is a UNESCO World Heritage site, forming part of the cultural heritage – which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value. Fez Medina has a total population of 200,000 and is the largest car-free urban area in the world. Many of the residents of Fez rely completely on their working animals and the labor they provide. These poor families depend mainly on pack animals like donkeys, mules, and horses to carry extremely heavy loads throughout the narrow streets of the old town. But, often due to overwork or neglect, these animals suffer terribly from all types of injuries and diseases. Without the careful and dedicated work of the American Fondouk’s veterinary staff, thousands of donkeys, mules, and horses would suffer or die each year. The American Fondouk is one of a tiny number of clinics in the developing world offering free veterinary care to the donkeys, mules, and horses of the poor. We also have specialists’ lectures and education for staff, local veterinarians and paravets, as well as donkey owners and the local people. There are an estimated 100 million of these beasts of burden in Africa and Asia, and only around 20 clinics to cover the needs of this huge population of animals. The America Fondouk Animal Hospital is unique among these in having a team of full time equine veterinarians, as well as a full range of diagnostic laboratory and therapeutic equipment.
