Our new global study exposes the shameful suffering caused by irresponsible wildlife tourism

The report, 'Checking out of cruelty', which used the research conducted by University of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), is the first ever piece of global research into the scale of animal cruelty in wildlife tourism.

The research found that three out of four wildlife tourist attractions involve some form of animal abuse or conservation concerns, and up to 550,000 wild animals are suffering in these venues.

Neil D’Cruze, our Head of Wildlife Research, says: “It’s clear that thousands of tourists are visiting wildlife attractions, unaware of the abuse wild animals’ face behind the scenes.

“As well as the cruelty to animals, there is also the very real danger to tourists, as we saw earlier this week with the very sad death of British tourist, Gareth Crowe, in Thailand.”

These welfare abuses include very young animals being taken from their mothers, beaten and abused during training to ensure they are passive enough to give rides, perform tricks or pose for holiday ‘selfies’ with tourists. The worst venues include bear, elephant and tiger parks.

Misleading reviews and ratings on TripAdvisor

WildCRU’s academic review included an analysis of TripAdvisor, the largest online tourist review site, in order to better understand the awareness levels of tourists visiting these wildlife venues. Of the 50,000 reviews, it revealed that 80% of people left positive reviews for venues with poor animal welfare.

Neil D’Cruze, our Head of Wildlife Research, says: “We need to stop the demand for elephant rides and shows, hugs and selfies with tigers and lions by exposing the hidden suffering behind wildlife attractions. If you can ride it, hug it or have a selfie with a wild animal, then you can be sure it is cruel. Vote with your feet and don’t go.”

Time to turn the tourism industry around

As tourism continues to grow, we estimate that approximately 110 million people visit cruel wildlife tourist attractions each year, unaware of the animal abuse involved. There is no global regulation regarding how wild animals are used in tourism, so the challenge is to transform the tourism industry so that it is part of the solution to end cruelty to wildlife.

As part of our Wildlife - not entertainers campaign, we have already secured commitments from 87 travel companies to stop the sale and promotion of elephant rides and shows. As one of the most prominent brands in tourism, Trip Advisor also has the capacity to make a huge impact – we’re proposing ways in which they can inform tourists about the cruelty at wildlife venues.

Join the movement

More than 250,000 people have already joined our Wildlife - not entertainers campaign. Add your voice and call for more tour operators around the world to join us and protect wildlife.

As well as the cruelty to animals, there is also the very real danger to tourists, as we saw earlier this week with the very sad death of British tourist, Gareth Crowe, in Thailand.