BAN THE MEDIEVAL TORTURE INSTRUMENT THAT IS THE TRADITIONAL BIT

Would you like this filthy, brutal, medieval torture instrument in your mouth?

Would you like to have someone communicate with you through this crude piece of metal work?

Would you like them to yank on your reins and drag this bit across your gums or ram the heavy metal port into the roof of your mouth?

Would you like to taste blood in your mouth for days on end?

The answer is almost certainly NO! And yet, there are countless mules, donkeys and horses working across Morocco in these bits. Many will be working in the tourism industry, on treks and expeditions.

Various organisations have taken a stand and are insisting that mules working in mountain tourism are only worked in head collars, bitless bridles or, when ridden, in modern stainless steel bits.

This is only a start, however, We need the whole industry to adopt this as best practice. We need the local, regional and national authorities to take this issue seriously. We need everyone to work towards the elimination and banning of the barbarity that is the traditional bit.

We therefore call on:

i. trekkers - to please make sure the company they travel with does not allow mules to be worked in these traditional bits.

ii. travel companies - to please make sure they do not employ muleteers who work their mules in these traditional bits.

iii. the Moroccan authorities to please, please make these bits illegal.

Thank you.

Finally, please note that the term 'Berber bit' is an unfortunate one: This is the name by which these traditional bits are known across the World. We would like to emphasise that these bits have been and continue to be used by people from a wide range of different cultural backgrounds. This petition seeks specifically to eliminate the use of these traditional bits and confine them once and for all to the past. No criticism of any one culture is therefore intended for it is only the traditional bit here that is being targetted.