Animal Friendly Tourism

Are you an animal-friendly tourist?As a tourist, your money may support trades and events that profit from animal suffering, pain and death. When you are on holiday, you can enjoy the beauty of nature and rich cultural traditions of the countries you visit without taking part in activities that harm animals.

Here is the compassionate person's guide to a cruelty-free holiday:

Animal Acts: Cruelty Parading As Entertainment

Do not pay to watch an animal perform tricks or patronise places that have performing animal shows.Animals forced into entertainment in circus-style shows, such as cycling bears, golfing orangutans and fire-hoop jumping tigers, endure enormous stress and pain. Their training methods include beatings, food deprivation, drugging and surgically removing or impairing their teeth and claws. Often, they are not given adequate housing or care and live in appalling conditions when not performing. ‘Dancing bears' in India and Pakistan and the elephants at many elephant parks in Thailand who are made to play musical instruments, ‘play football' and perform tricks endure similar training methods and treatment.

In some wildlife parks in China , live rabbits, ducks, pigs and calves are thrown to hungry predator animals like tigers. Such cruelty will only stop when we refuse to watch.

Animal Photography: No Fun For The Animals

Never pay to have your photo taken with a wild animal, either on the street or at a zoo.Animals are often used for photography, feeding and cuddling sessions in zoos, hotels and on the streets in some countries. Many of these animals are captured from the wild after their families have been killed. Many are over-handled, starved and stressed. When they are out of sight of tourists, they could be chained, beaten, kicked and confined to tiny, bare cages, with little or no veterinary care. Worldwide, accidents involving people and captive wild animals are also on the increase, some of which result in serious injuries and death. There is also the danger of disease transmission between humans and animals in such settings.

Animal Rides: Abuse On The Roads

Do not participate in animal rides or encourage ‘begging elephants' on the city streets.When traveling, you will frequently come across animals such as elephants and ponies forced to take tourists for rides in sweltering temperatures without sufficient food or water. Some are malnourished, abused, old, injured or even pregnant. In Bangkok , although elephants are banned from the streets, their owners still walk them through the city hoping to make money from sympathetic residents and tourists. Many of these elephants are reported to be suffering from neglect and, at times, mistreatment.

Cockfights: Displays of Brutality

Never watch a cockfight or any other ‘sports' involving animals. Cockfights feature roosters specially bred for aggressiveness, forced to slash and gouge each other until one of them quits from blindness, injury or death. In countries like Thailand , lethal metal spikes on the legs and razor blades on the wings are forbidden. Nevertheless, the birds get severely injured just from the savage claws and powerful beaks. The losers often end up in the cooking pot. Children watching such fights could also develop insensitivity to violence.

Exotic Meat: Recipes for Torture

Do not be tempted to try ‘exotic' meats when on holiday.When you travel you want to try new things, but do not eat wildlife or domestic animals. This fuels illegal poaching and causes great pain and suffering. Wild animals are often captured and slaughtered in brutal ways. In countries like Korea , wild animals are trapped with wires around their mouths, leaving them to starve to death. Turtles have their meat scraped off while still alive. Dogs are struck with blunt blows to the head, then butchered while still conscious. Cats are boiled and skinned alive. Avoid restaurants which serve such meat, and let them know why you won't patronise them.

Live Animal Markets: Kidnapping Animals From Their Homes.

Avoid live animal markets in countries like Indonesia , where native and exotic species of birds, reptiles and mammals are offered for sale. Many of these species are protected by law. These creatures are often orphaned by poachers and illegally captured from the wild. They are mostly kept in filthy, tiny cages with little or no water, food, care, or shade from the grueling sun. Visiting and patronising these places will only encourage this cruel industry.

Marine Mammal Parks: The Underwater Prisons

Do not patronise marine parks that keep marine mammals such as dolphins and whales.Marine animals are known to suffer greatly in captivity, especially dolphins and orcas which are extremely social, intelligent and active animals. Captive marine mammals often live in small, sterile, chlorinated enclosures and are deprived of their natural activity level, social groups and interactions with their natural environment. Many of them develop stereotypic behaviour or aggression which is not known to occur in the wild. They are often forced to entertain visitors with unnatural and degrading tricks which teach nothing about their true behaviour. Training methods can be cruel, often involving food deprivation.

Souvenirs: Murder For The Sake Of Trinkets

Never buy souvenirs made from animals.When you buy souvenirs made from skins, shells, ivory, bone, fur or other animal products, the animals pay with their lives. To make combs and necklaces, turtles are cut up while they are still alive. For the sake of ivory seals and chopsticks, elephants are shot down and sometimes their faces are cut off to remove their tusks. Buying endangered species products not only fuels demand and causes more suffering, it pushes the species further towards extinction. Under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act, it is also a serious offence to import, export or posses an endangered species (including their parts, related products or derivatives) without a proper permit.

Zoos: There's Nothing Natural About Them

Some zoos in Asia imprison animals in extremely poor conditions. Wild animals who would hunt, forage and roam for miles every day cannot exercise their natural behaviour in captivity. Many suffer from mental stress, and this is evident from abnormal stereotypic behaviour like pacing up and down and constantly licking the metal cage bars. Instead of educating children about wild animal behaviour, zoos teach them that it is acceptable to keep animals in captivity; bored, cramped, and far from their natural homes. Take the kids to sanctuaries or nature reserves instead, where animals can be observed in their natural habitat.

What Else You Can Do

Encourage your friends and family to be animal-friendly tourists whenever they go on holiday.
Check your tour itinerary (even if the tour is labeled as an eco-tour) to make sure it does not involve cruelty to animals. If it does, tell your travel agent you do not wish to go to places involved in such cruelty. Ask your agent to propose cruelty-free alternatives.

Ensure that your hotel does not display any wild animals. If you are at a hotel or resort that does, express your disapproval in writing to the management.

Find out if there are any local animal welfare societies you may need to contact if an animal needs help.

If you see instances of animal cruelty, record what you have seen through photos or videotape but never pay to take such pictures. Make sure to record the date, time, location, type and number of animals involved.

Write to the management of the facility, the event organiser, the local tourist office, the local police, the local animal welfare society, your tour operator or the Ambassador of that country when you return. You can also contact Acres.