Animal instincts

How do we have ethical wildlife experiences when travelling? Regular columnist founder of G Adventures, shares key ways tourists can help protect the planet’s precious animals.

Animal welfare and protection of the world’s wildlife is a topic very close to my heart. It starts with remembering the premise that travel is a privilege, not a right, and with privilege comes responsibility. Part of that responsibility is to help protect those who can’t always protect themselves, and that includes the incredible creatures we share our planet with.

Planet Earth is an amazing place, but it’s far from perfect. Not only do we have the responsibility to help protect it, but we also have the opportunity to educate both ourselves and others on how we can leave it better than we found it.

Bruce Poon Tip,

There is still a lot of work to do, but we can all help.

As travellers we need to be more educated. The more people who know how to create change and improve the lives of animals in the places we visit, the more demand for wildlife-friendly tourist interactions will be created, and companies will need to update their practices. It only takes a small number of people to make a huge difference.

Last year we released a documentary called The Last Tourist, which is available to view on Apple TV and Prime Video. One of the key themes is wildlife protection and the eradication of cruel practices designed to attract tourists – most of whom do not know what animals go through to get them to the point of performing for people.

In cases where animals are trained through fear, starvation and pain, just to entertain crowds, the tourists who are buying into these encounters are paying for this industry to exist, but most of them truly love animals. They want to be near a tiger or to pet a dolphin. But they don’t realise that’s not okay. Their love of animals has driven them to the point where they are unwittingly contributing to the torture and mistreatment of the animals they care about so much.

The Last Tourist is tough to watch in places, but these scenes were necessary to wake people up. I don’t think anyone thinks an elephant kicks a soccer ball naturally, or that a bear walks on its hands, or that a tiger wants to sit on a chain to be photographed. People don’t think about these things until it’s put in front of them, and the message from the film is one of hope – that we can all do so much better.

SO WHERE CAN I START, YOU MIGHT ASK?

First, no matter what travel experience you’re booking, the company representative should be able to answer your questions. If an organisation genuinely cares

about being responsible, they are going to scream it from the rooftops and it will be easy to see how their animal welfare credentials hold up.

At G Adventures we have a robust animal welfare policy that is available to any individual or company to download from our website. In addition to this, we have adopted the guidelines developed by the Association of British Travel Agents (now known as ABTA – The Travel Association) in conjunction with the Born Free Foundation, a thirdparty organisation whose mission it is to protect animals from abuse.

Our vision is to ensure that all animals encountered on our tours are treated humanely, and our policy has also been endorsed by Dr Jane Goodall, with whom we have a partnership in creating the Jane Goodall Collection of wildlife-focussed tours.

It doesn’t take a lot of effort but you have to be conscious and aware, and lean into that responsibility. We’re not asking you to be the judge and jury when it comes to ethical tourism, but we are asking people to educate themselves, be aware of what they are going into, and help be the change we want to see in the world.

G Adventures operates with the belief that travel is an exchange, not a commodity. As the pioneers of community tourism, the planet’s social and environmental welfare is fundamentally important to us – not just as a business, but as human beings, too.

When you travel with us, you’re giving back as much – if not more – than what you take away, often in ways you’d never expect. gadventures.com

Book an ethical tour company for your next wildlife safari © Shutterstock; mountain gorillas are an endangered species and need our protection © G Adventures Uganda Gorilla

Trek; the kindest way to see a polar bear is in its own habitat © G Adventures Jane Goodall Collection