The cruel life of donkeys in Santorini, elephant baths in Thailand, horse-drawn floats in the middle of New York traffic or the fake “sanctuaries” of tigers bred in captivity and often sedated so that visitors can relax. Take photos with them. In the absence of laws that prohibit and prosecute these practices, the future of these animals remains, for the moment, in the hands of the conscience of tourists.
In total, tourist attractions that involve interaction with wildlife represent between 20% and 40% of world tourismaccording to a study carried out by the University of Oxford in 2015, which analyzed the offer advertised on TripAdvisor. The percentage includes positive experiences – such as activities in shelters that protect wild animals – and negative ones, such as shows with specimens exploited in captivity.
«The result is that there are some 550,000 animals around the world suffering negative impacts due to travelaccording to this work, and that around 110 million people participate in tourist activities that involve animal cruelty, often with the help of agencies and tour operators,” explains Andrea Torres, biologist and coordinator of the Wild Animals area of FAADA (Foundation for Advice and Action in Defense of Animals).
FAADA has been working since 2010 to promote an ethical way of traveling with all living beings and, today, it is the only NGO in Spain specialized in this problem. Now, they have just launched the first course in our country on Responsible Tourism with Animals specifically aimed at companies and professionals in the sector. The reason? Something is changing. «At first we were going to talk to the travel agencies, but they told us that If they stopped offering tourism with animals they lost money. In the last three years, the change has been brutal: they are the ones who come to FAADA to ask for training due to the change in the population’s mentality.
The new online course, which they are launching with IATI Seguros, will allow professionals (agencies and tour operators, tourist guides, journalists, bloggers and travel influencers) to become certified and have tools to recognize activities that are harmful to animals and their habitat. «Travel companies will be able to Identify which tourism practices are sustainable and which are pure greenwashing that seeks to profit from animal exploitation,” says Torres.
The rise of the beastly selfie
If there are many tourist offers that feature interaction with wild animals, it is because there is a great demand. Each year, 2-4 million tourists fund attractions that impact animal welfare or conservation. However, 80% of respondents in the Oxford study I was unaware that these activities were not “good” for wildlife.
“He Wild tourism is in fashion due to the rise of social networks; to get “the photo”. In the tourism industry, the term “responsible travel” has been normalized, but just because it involves the participation of animals does not mean that it is so,” says the biologist. To distinguish which offers are negative, the course establishes three blocks of tourist attractions by degree of animal welfare.
The most harmful are activities that use captive animals, which may suffer torture or mistreatment. “This category includes those who live exploited for entertainment (in zoos or dolphinariums), those who are captured for selfies or riding camels and elephants,” explains Torres.
The second block is composed of interactions that have a negative effect that impacts their habitat, such as touching or feeding to wild fauna. «They are activities that are more difficult to see that they are wrong. For example, in the Maldives the feeding (attract animals with food) to take a photo from the air surrounded by nurse sharks. This modifies the behavior of the fauna and alters its food chain. Consequently, attacks on humans have increased». Added to these consequences are others such as the increased risk of transmission of zoonotic diseases and the impact on ecosystems.
These two types of tourism with animals encourage illegal hunting of endangered animals. “Many legal activities that involve animals destined for tourism hide an illegal trade in endangered species,” says the biologist. «A very clear example is the lion farms in South Africa. The tourist believes that he is in a rescue center for lion cubs, where they offer you volunteer work to bottle-feed them, take photos, pet them… but, in reality, they are taken from their mother. And, when the lions become adults, They sell them for canned hunting or they export parts of their body for traditional Chinese medicine.
Finally, there are ethical alternatives for those tourists who want to interact with animals in a responsible manner, supporting the work of sanctuaries and royal rescue centers. This third block also includes safaris or animal watching, as long as it is done under the appropriate conditions. Thus, for the moment, and until new regulations are approved at the national, European and international level, these types of training are the main – and only – shield against wild tourism.