An animal-loving vigilante who went viral for punching a man who was beating a donkey in Egypt says she would do it again despite receiving death threats.
Dutch expat Joke Van der Post was filmed attacking the animal’s handler after she saw him repeatedly lashing it while it stood tethered to a wall on the outskirts of Cairo.
Footage shows the 47-year-old running at the man, striking him several times before chasing him with a whip as he tries to flee.
The video has since been widely circulated online and many have praised Ms Van der Post’s actions, calling her a ‘heroine’.
However, others were angry that she challenged a man – something Ms Van der Post says is ‘unheard of’ in Egypt – where women are still fighting for equality.
She told MailOnline: ‘I’ve had a lot of threats on my life.
‘The aftermath is much more dangerous because now there’s this big hype, so people are quite mad.’
Footage taken just moments before her arrival shows the helpless donkey kicking out in agony each time it is struck.
Despite fearing for her life Ms Van der Post insists she has no regrets and ‘will not stand by and watch an innocent animal being beat up’.
She claims she tried to warn the man to stop abusing the donkey before deciding to take matters into her own hands.
‘When I yelled at him to stop, he just called me a wh***, started laughing and started beating the donkey harder’, she said.
An animal-loving vigilante who went viral for punching a man who was beating a donkey in Egypt claims despite receiving death threats she would do it again
Dutch expat Joke Van der Post was filmed attacking the animal’s handler after she saw him repeatedly lashing it while it stood tethered to a wall on the outskirts of Cairo
Appalled by the horrific cruelty, the 47-year-old runs at the man, striking him several times before chasing him with a whip as he tries to flee
Joke Van der Post claims she verbally tried to warn the man to stop abusing the donkey before deciding to take matters into her own hands and initiating her ‘brutal response’. ‘when I yelled him to stop, he just called me a w****, started laughing and started beating the donkey harder’, she said
The comment prompted Ms Van der Post to ‘respond brutally’, by charging at the man and pinning him against the wall shouting: ‘You think this is f***** normal? You piece of s***.’
Police later arrested Ms Van der Post before releasing her after the animal handler reported her for assault.
The handler was also arrested and has filed a complaint against Ms Van der Post, claiming the viral video has caused him ‘psychological harm’.
She dismissed his complaint saying: ‘He’s embarrassed because he got hit by a woman’.
According to Ms Van der Post – who runs an rescue centre called the Good Karma Sanctuary near the Giza Pyramids – animal abuse is commonplace in Cairo.
She says the donkey abuse is a ‘very soft and weak example’ of the horrific cruelty she sees daily.
‘I see it all the time and I always intervene. But, because I’m very well known in the area, normally when they see me, they will stop.’
‘I will take their whip from them and hit you with the whip if I have to. You’ll get an opportunity to stop and listen to reasoning. But if you don’t listen to reasoning, then I will intervene.’
Ms Van der Post runs a veterinary clinic called the Good Karma Sanctuary near the Giza Pyramids in Cairo
She now faces a high fine but said she would rather go to jail than give money to an animal abuser.
Failure to pay up could result in deportation or a stint in a notoriously grisly Egyptian prison.
‘The conditions in the jails in Egypt are horrific. It’s like a stone floor where you are in with a bunch of other people. But these horses live through hell every day their entire life’, Ms Van der Post said.
‘For me, it would be a couple of months. If that means that the laws are changing and the change is coming for 20,000 horses if I sacrifice a couple months it’ll be fine.’
The shocking clip has triggered outrage online and ignited a global discussion about the mistreatment of working animals in Egyptian tourist hotspots.
Many viewers supported Ms Van der Post and hailed her a ‘total hero’ for protecting the donkey from a ‘cowardly disgrace’.
Ms Van der Post now faces a high fine but said she would rather go to jail than give money to an animal abuser. Failure to pay up could result in deportation or a stint in a notoriously grisly Egyptian prison
Many viewers supported Ms Van der Post and hailed her a ‘total hero’ for protecting the donkey from a ‘cowardly disgrace’
One person said: ‘she punished him for abusing the donkey, she did right. No animal cruelty is ever acceptable.’
Another added: ‘Hopefully this will highlight the abuse of animals in that country and it will bring about a change , well done that lady for protecting the donkeys.’
However, others who watched the clip disagreed.
‘Not a way to go about things. Silly woman. Should know better as she lives there. Try to educate, not bully. That gets you nowhere, except as you know arrested,’ said one.
A second agreed writing: ‘Whipping a boy instead of talking to them seems more abusive that whipping a donkey.’
