Best practices in animal based tourism
The tourism industry is full of examples where animals comprise the focus or a key part of the experience. At its basest form, animal-based tourism (ABT) experiences are solely created to make money. At its highest form, ABT can lead to further understanding of “the other,” including the tour operator, non-human animals, and the cultural context, which can lead to changed attitudes or behaviors, social bonding across cultures and species, and a deeper love for the natural world.
Best practices in ABT are very similar to best practices in all sustainable tourism ventures with an added caveat that operators are responsible for the care of specific and individual animals and/or groups of animals, versus all animals included broadly within an ecosystem. ABT can be consumptive, whereby animals are killed and their body parts are used, or non-consumptive. A 2015 study examining wildlife tourism attractions divided them into four categories: wildlife-watching tourism, captive-wildlife tourism, hunting tourism, and fishing tourism (Moorhouse, Dahlsjö, Baker, D'Cruze, and Macdonald, 2015). This categorization would presumably not include ABT with tamed animals such as dogs, llamas, donkeys, yak and other animals that have been “domesticated” for human use such as the transportation of people or goods, or for entertainment and recreation such as dog racing, cockfighting, bull fighting, or rodeos (Responsible Travel, n.d.). Likewise, it does not include animals raised for the sole purpose of being food, or animals killed to turn their body parts into souvenirs. And finally, aquatic animals of all types seem to be excluded from many ABT discussions.
The same 2015 study mentioned above found that 80% of attending tourists to wildlife-watching experiences did not recognize and/or respond to signs of negative animal welfare. In the cases where animals are “front and center” in the supply chain, the animal’s welfare must be the utmost imperative for operators, and should be demanded by visitors. In the cases where animals are not visible and sporadically or minimally visible, the tourist should still be a savvy and responsible consumer of ABT experiences.
Best practices for the visitor
Research, research, research… There are dozens and dozens of organizations that strive to educate the traveling public, monitor operators, and develop policy toward creating better ABT. A solid hour of research on the web would make a traveler much more informed about the potential issues of virtually any destination. For example, the organization World Animal Protection puts out a list of “Elephant-friendly travel companies.” The International Fund for Animal Welfare has information on the best and worst countries for banning animals in circuses. The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries provides certification for animal sanctuaries, rescue centers, and rehabilitation centers. Tourism Concern has an Ethical Tour Operators Group, and The Brooke (n.d.) have a code for responsible travel with horses and other equids …these are just a few examples of the many resources that exist.
Think about the supply chain. How did that animal get to be a part of the ABT experience? Could he/she have been plucked from the wild in order to become part of this attraction? Often, smaller animals are easier to transport, therefore sometimes other members of the family are killed in order to more easily capture the offspring. Injuries and death of animals occur during transportation, as well. In doing the research ahead, and thinking about the supply chain, you can avoid unethical facilities and businesses.
Follow the money. While you are doing your research, see if you can figure out if the revenue from the ABT benefits the community or conservation goals in general.
Restrain from getting a selfie. The organization World Animal Protection notes “If you can ride it, hug it or have a selfie with the wild animal, the chances are it’s a cruel venue.” Animal selfies, while a hit on social media, can be extremely stressful for the animal. Wildlife selfie safaris are on the rise. National Geographic has done a wonderful job tackling this topic, and since late 2017 Instagram has acted responsibly by inserting pop-up warnings about potential hazards to wildlife (Daly, 2017). Whenever someone searches or clicks on a hashtag like “#tigerselfie,” the pop-up message tells the user that they are searching for a hashtag that may be associated with posts that encourage harmful behavior to animals or the environment.
Report suffering. There are places where animal suffering can be reported, including Born Free’s website: https://www.bornfree.org.uk/report-animal-suffering
Give back to animals. If you are going to volunteer at a shelter, sanctuary, or rehabilitation facility while you travel, make sure the facility, and the tourism operators that connect you with them, are reputable. Animal Experiences International is transparent in how they approach social responsibility and how visitors should approach ethical travel (see more at https://www.animalexperienceinternational.com/serious-1/). Additionally, reflect on your motives for volunteering to help animals to make sure the priority is providing aid and not for status reasons or to add to your resume. Some animal sanctuaries are overwhelmed with volunteers and media attention, to the detriment of other parks that may need help more, or where conditions aren’t as favorable to the animals (Taylor, 2018).
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Best practices in ABT for the operator
Invest in quality interpretation. All conservation-based attractions need quality interpretation to impart influential messages to visitors about the value of the resources in question. Particularly if the resource is a sentient being, or group of sentient beings, care must be taken to present accurate and representative knowledge. Knowledge can come in many forms, and can be imparted in many ways as well. By investing in the what, who, why, and how of interpretation, you will be maximizing your intended conservation goals. One resource in the United States is the National Association for Interpretation.
Invest in staff training. Not all employees are alike. Make sure that your staff not only are equipped with the proper training to interact with visitors, but understand the inherent value of the sentient beings in your care. Refresher workshops on how to interact with wildlife is critical to their understanding of wildlife instinct and behavior, as well as their own welfare, and the welfare of the animal.
Leave human behavior to humans. Animals should never be “trained” to ride bicycles, smoke cigarettes, dance, jump through hoops, or move in some way that is not innate to the species.
Join the experts. Just like visitors should do their research, operators also have a host of organizations to turn to, learn from, and join. Becoming a member of a reputable group, or becoming certified by them, demonstrates that you adhere to the ABT-related standards set out by that organization; find the one that best matches your tourism sector (e.g. tour operator, attraction management, transportation, lodging, marketing, etc.). Note that many organizations are still “catching up” when it comes to recommended ethical standards or codes, so align with an organization that has considered these matters deeply. As Fennell (2014) notes, even the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s Global Code of Ethics sets forth its ideal protocols from an anthropomorphic perspective.
Ensure the five freedoms. It goes without saying that attending to the five freedoms is the minimal standard of care: freedom from hunger and thirst; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury and disease; freedom to behave normally; and freedom from fear and distress.
Don’t use animals. A live animal is wonderful to see up close…for the human. Are there ways of getting the information across without having a captive animal in front of an audience? Are there animal substitutes that could be made? For example, some circuses are only displaying human feats of entertainment, or providing life sized animal “puppets” to amuse audiences. If your attraction is conservation-based, are there other ways of exposing visitors to an ABT at a distance and in the animal’s natural habitat?
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Sources
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Animal Experiences International (n.d.). Serious. Retrieved from https://www.animalexperienceinternational.com/serious-1/
Born Free Foundation. (n.d.). Captive Animals. Retrieved from https://www.bornfree.org.uk/captive-animals
The Brooke (n.d.). Responsible Use of Animals in Tourism. Retrieved from https://www.thebrooke.org/get-involved/responsible-use-animals-tourism
Daly, N. (2017). Exclusive: Instagram Fights Animal Abuse With New Alert System. National Geographic. Retrieved from https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/12/wildlife-watch-instagram-selfie-tourism-animal-welfare-crime/
Fennell, D. A. (2014). Exploring the boundaries of a new moral order for tourism's global code of ethics: an opinion piece on the position of animals in the tourism industry. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 22(7), 983-996.
Moorhouse TP, Dahlsjö CAL, Baker SE, D'Cruze NC, Macdonald DW (2015). The Customer Isn't Always Right—Conservation and Animal Welfare Implications of the Increasing Demand for Wildlife Tourism. PLoS ONE 10(10): e0138939. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0138939
Responsible Travel. Our Stance on Captive Animals, Animal Welfare, & Tourism. Retrieved from https://www.responsiblevacation.com/copy/animal-welfare-issues-in-tourism
Taylor, M. (2018). Elephant-based Volunteer Tourism: An exploration of participant experiences and reflections on captive elephant welfare in Thailand (Master's thesis, University of Waterloo).
Tourism Concern. (2017). Animals in Tourism [Research Briefing]. Retrieved from https://www.tourismconcern.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Animals-in-Tourism-lWeb-FINAL.pdf.
World Animal Protection. (n.d.). Wildlife, Not Entertainers. Retrieved from https://www.worldanimalprotection.us.org/wildlife-not-entertainers/what-you-can-do