Wildlife in Tourism and What You Didn’t Know

Most of us can say that at least one friend has posted a ‘tiger selfie’ or a photo of them riding an elephant on their amazing round-the-world travels on some form of social media. What most don’t know, however, is the complete lack of animal welfare involved in these high-demand tourist attractions.

Be a savvy traveller! It can be pretty obvious if an animal’s welfare is being neglected whilst in a captive environment, even with misleading attraction names: ‘sanctuary’ or ‘temple’ for example – so use your noggin wisely and don’t further fund this industry.

Key things to look out for are if the animal is chained or tied up, forced interactions with humans not typical of their natural behaviours, trained performances and stereotypical stress behaviours such as pacing their enclosure. After all, these are wild animals at heart, and however cute or fluffy they look, or however many ‘likes’ you think your new profile pic might get, they deserve their freedom!

Here are the top 5 cruellest attractions to watch out for and warn your friends against:

• Riding Elephants
• Tiger Selfies
• Walking with Lions
• Sea Turtle Farms
• Performing or Swimming with Dolphins

Why not see wildlife where it really belongs…in the Wild!

There are plenty of conservation and animal welfare based tourist attraction alternatives, perfect for seeing these beautiful animals in their natural, beautiful environments. So, take a Safari through the vast African planes and nature reserves, trek through the Borneo forests, or go and experience the immensely biodiverse Madagascar!

Our friends over at Eco Companion have a great range of responsible wildlife-based tours and projects for you to be a part of, so be sure to check them out. Born Free Foundation also has some wonderful top-tips on the best alternatives to captive animal activities which are wildlife friendly, and some really in-depth information.