Every time you choose responsible tourism, you’re ensuring a better future for wild animals. World Wildlife Day reminds us of the need to protect these intelligent species that make our forests and game reserves worth visiting and enjoying
None of us would imagine a world without them – yet people have continuously been the greatest contributors to wildlife cruelty.
The sad reality for wild animals
In Asia, baby elephants are taken away from their mothers. They’re tortured, which breaks their spirits, and makes them submissive enough to be ridden by tourists. Currently, 3,000 elephants are in captivity, living in the most deplorable conditions, as revealed in our ‘Taken for a ride report’.
An Elephant at a venue in Thailand where elephants are kept in captivity and used to entertain tourists.
Big cats are among the most widely admired animals across the globe. However, today these charismatic predators are facing many and varied threats, which are mostly caused by human activities. In South Africa, lions are taken away from the wild, tamed to conform to human orders and forced to walk with tourists.
A caged tiger cub at Sri Racha Tiger Zoo, Thailand.
Our report ‘A close up on cruelty: The harmful impact of wildlife selfies in the Amazon', shows a growing trend in irresponsible selfies for that memorable social media experience.
Become a conscious tourist
This is not the future most tourists want for our friends in the wild.
Awareness is your first step towards creating a cruelty-free future for wildlife. Tourist venues are keen to hide the torture subjected to the animals they keep. It can be hard to see the pain these animals are going through, regardless of how closely you look.
Anokha, meaning "unique," is nine-year old Asiatic black bear recently surrendered to our partner BRC in November 2017. He had been used for dancing and baiting. He had been kept for years in terrible conditions - very little food, no shelter, no vet care.
Our tourist guide will help you prepare better for your next holiday. You’ll be able to know what welfare issues to look out for when visiting the next tourist site.
Together we can do more
Last year, together with 250,000 people, we moved Instagram to include an advisory page for anyone searching for #slothselfie, and other hashtags which could be associated with wildlife cruelty. Now, when any of Instagram’s 800 million users searches for harmful interactions with animals, they will be warned about the dangers of this trend.
If you haven’t signed up to this ask, you still have time. Commit to cruelty free selfies by adding your name.
This is not the future most tourists want for our friends in the wild.