Why you should avoid these wildlife attractions when traveling this summer
For many holidaymakers enjoying their summer vacation, seeing animals is high on their list of priorities. Statistics report that the wildlife tourism industry is estimated to be worth over $2billion in the next decade – which is understandable, as few things compare to seeing an elephant, a dolphin, or another majestic wild being in their natural habitat. But tourism that involves animal attractions (where animals have been removed from their habitats and placed in captivity, or bred in captivity) is virtually always harmful and rife with abuse.
According to World Animal Protection, around 550,000 animals around the world are currently held captive and exploited in the tourism trade. In many cases, these animals have been removed from anything that is natural to them and kept in conditions that can never come close to replicating their natural habitats. They have lost their families and are at risk for disease and serious mental health distress. All of this is cleverly hidden from the view of tourists who are queueing up for a selfie, a ride, or a petting-zoo moment.
Here are the attractions to steer clear of to avoid harming the animals that we so desperately wish to see:
Elephant rides
In South-east Asian countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, elephant rides have been a popular attraction for many years, with tourists boasting about their moment atop a mighty elephant on social media. But today, interest for these rides is declining. The decrease in numbers follows numerous reports showing that elephants are commonly 'broken in' to make it easier for humans to handle them and ensure they won't lash out at tourists. In this process, their wild spirits are broken down through the threat of violence, which often leads to extreme post-traumatic stress in the animals.
Following pressure from animal activist groups the management authority for the Angkor Archaeological Park in Siem Reap, Cambodia announced it would ban elephant rides in early 2020. Photo: Amy Jones/Moving Animals
Horse-drawn carriages
Sold to tourists as “romantic”, horse-drawn carriages actually involve putting the easily-spooked animals at risk of traffic accidents, which can also have human victims. Standing on hard surfaces that aren't suitable to their hooves can be painful for the animals, who also run the risk of exhaustion when pulling heavy carriages in what is often extreme heat. Many popular travel destinations such as Barcelona, New Delhi and Rome have banned this cruel practice.
Credit: Amy Jones/Moving Animals
Tiger selfies
Selfies with wild animals, primarily big cats such as tigers, were popular on dating sites before Tinder banned them in 2017. However, the photos with wildlife haven't gone anywhere: people standing in line for a selfie with a tiger cub are often unaware that many of these animals have been taken from their homes and are kept in highly unnatural conditions that cause them extreme stress. Wild animals in captivity commonly suffer from zoochosis, a condition where they exhibit behaviours such as swaying, pacing back and forth or self-mutilating by licking their own tails. Furthermore, these wild animals are commonly drugged in order for the photo-ops to be safe for tourists.
Credit: Amy Jones/Moving Animals
Marine parks and aquariums
A prison for marine animals, these abusive parks often feature once-wild animals who are captured in extremely cruel ways: in nature, orcas and dolphins live in their family pods, and when one member is captured, this disrupts the whole pod, with some animals attempting to save their family members by swimming after the boat. Once the animals are brought to the marine park, trainers sometimes withhold food to force them to perform. The unnatural conditions of the tanks and water levels cause skin issues, dorsal fin collapses, not to mention the extreme psychological distress that is typical of captivity.
Credit: Amy Jones/Moving Animals
“There is no excuse for exploiting these animals as ‘taxis’, and the time to ban these cruel, archaic rides is now.”
Donkey and mule rides
Travelling to Santorini this summer? If you visit the ancient town of Firà, choose a form of transportation that doesn't involve donkeys and mules, who are forced to carry tourists up 500 steps in scorching heat, often given no respite from the sun or adequate water and shade. PETA Germany has exposed the animals being beaten, whipped and dragged, and suffering from sores and bloody wounds. Campaign groups have for a long time been calling for the rides to be banned. “The suffering of donkeys and mules on Santorini is as bad as ever, and those responsible must be held to account,” says PETA Vice President for Europe Mimi Bekhechi. “There is no excuse for exploiting these animals as ‘taxis’, and the time to ban these cruel, archaic rides is now.” Animals are not transport methods, and if you do find yourself standing at the bottom of those steps, take the fully functional and scenic cable cars instead.
Credit: Amy Jones/Moving Animals
Circuses with performing animals
Just like the animals in marine parks, wild animals in circuses have sometimes been illegally taken from their homes in the wild and locked into a cage, brought out only to stand in front of crowds under blinding lights, forced to do confusing tricks. No animal wants to perform for humans because they find it fun – these elephants, horses, tigers, and other animals have been subjected to the threat of violence in order to perform. Whips are often use to get them to comply, and in the cases of animals such as bears, they are made to stand on two legs which is completely unnatural to these four-legged animals. Only visit circuses with willing human participants, such as the brilliant Cirque du Soleil.
Credit: Amy Jones/Moving Animals
Swimming with dolphins
This one seems harmless enough: there's no riding the animals, and no tricks to perform. But looks are deceiving. Like any wild animals, dolphins suffer in captivity. In their natural habitats, these animals swim long distances each day, spend almost no time at the surface, and never come to shore. “Capture is highly traumatic for wild dolphins and may cause an often fatal condition known as capture stress or capture myopathy,” says the Humane Society. In addition, the status of the populations from which dolphins are captured is often unknown and the removal of even a few individuals may have negative impacts on the pod members left behind.” So stay away from these exploitative money-grabbing operations, and opt to do some water sports instead.
Credit: PETA
If, after reading this, you're inclined to seek out “good” kinds of animal attractions, don't fall for the establishment's promises. Animals held in captivity and exploited for tourism are guaranteed to suffer, and the best thing we can do as travellers is to keep our wallets shut. Wild animals will suffer for tourism as long as humans are willing to part with money to partake, so to take a stand, only buy tickets to animal-free attractions.
Written by Sascha Camilli
Sascha Camilli is a writer, speaker and vegan fashion expert. She founded the world's first digital vegan fashion magazine Vilda, and is the author of Vegan Style: Your Plant-Based Guide to Beauty, Fashion, Home & Travel. Her podcast, Catwalk Rebel, is out now.
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