Don’t make this ‘paradise isle’ a hell for animals
How does animal cruelty impact on the tourism industry of a nation? In some tourist resorts in Sri Lanka, there are cruel methods of dealing with stray dogs and cats. Tourist hotels are the latest addition to a list of public places like hospitals, state universities, parks and the streets, with the authorities claiming that stray animals are a nuisance and a rabies risk, and require removal for metropolis beautification.
Many dogs have disappeared with eyewitness accounts of their brutal capture, but with no information of their fate. Dogs and cats have been found dead en masse; a few even buried alive.Most of these are animals sterilized, vaccinated against rabies and cared for by the community. Animal welfare campaigners frequently receive information of dogs and cats in some tourist hotel premises being killed,the most recent being at a hotel in Trincomalee.
The common method of destruction is poisoning, where the animals die in agony. Hotel staff who care for these animals are helpless when the management’s policy is elimination. Many tourists feed these animals and help to treat the sick or injured. Most tourists are fond of animals - a hotel in Galle is frequented by cats only during the tourist season as the tourists do not stone them, but show affection.
Horrified by the cruelty they see, some tourists vow never to return and share their traumatic experiences, discouraging others from visiting Sri Lanka. This is detrimental publicity for a nation reliant on the tourist industry’s contribution to its economy and already receiving black marks for sexual and other assaults on tourists.
As Diana Webster, attorney and travel industry business professional highlights in a report on The Economic Impact of Stray Cats and Dogs at Tourist Destinations on the Tourism Industry, “For many tourists, encountering cats or dogs that are obviously strays, starving, sick, or suffering, while on vacation leaves a lasting negative impression. From recent research, we have learned that once tourists have such an experience, many are less likely to return to that destination and will also share the incident with friends, family members, colleagues, and on travel review sites. Some tourists even refuse to travel to certain destinations because they don’t want to see stray cats and dogs suffering or have heard that the destination country controls stray populations through inhumane and brutal mass killings… These tourists represent a substantial number of socially conscious consumers who may “vote with their wallets” to avoid seeing animals suffer, potentially impacting travel company profits and tourist destination economies in a big way…Compassion is a key driver in tourist choices and it makes both fiscal and ethical sense for tourism companies and destination governments to develop sterilization programs as a means of humanely curbing overpopulation.”
In Thailand, at Pattaya City’s World Dog Centre, rescued dogs entertain visitors to the beach resorts, while awareness is created on dog history, their intelligence and societal role and the importance of neutering them. Samui Palm Beach Resorts supports local dog rescue centres to keep strays healthy and safe as guests do notwant animals harmed.
The TUI Group with its chain of animal-friendly hotels in over 30 countries recommends that, “Its hotel partners put up feeding stations on the hotel grounds to ensure that they are properly fed and that they stay away from the restaurants. Hoteliers can qualify to display the “animal-friendly hotel” label if they meet certain criteria, including castration of all cats and dogs living on hotel premises, regular veterinary examination and vaccination of the animals, and cooperation with local animal welfare associations. Awareness raising among hotel guests encourages them to behave kindly to animals and only feed them at designated stations using appropriate animal feed.”
The Lemon Tree Hotel Company’s 27 hotels in India has a delightful “Pooch Policy.” Anjali Nambissan narrates how within this policy, each hotel adopts a stray dog or two from the vicinity, gives them full board plus loads of love and even a job - Vice Chairdog, Company Mascot or Senior Food Critic! As the Company’s Sustainability Initiatives Vice President Aradhana Lal, says “One would consider a hotel to be a place frequented by all types of people, with varying degrees of tolerance for the four-legged, but patrons are never bothered by these hospitable dogs…We receive a variety of guests at our hotels, each with different likes and dislikes. We are careful not to inconvenience guests and ensure that our hotel dog is restricted to back- of- thehouse areas.”
There are heart-warming reports of tourists taking cruelly treated stray dogs home, like Karen Garner who spent nearly £3,000 to take to Scotland, an emaciated stray dog she found in Mauritius.
With the then President’s “No Kill Policy”of 2006, the World Health Organization recommended “Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate and Release” (CNVR) became our humane stray dog population control alternative to horrific gas chambers.The Government agency responsible for CNVR is the Department of Animal Production and Health (DAPH). Animal welfare organizations too regularly conduct CNVR. Tourist hotels can, therefore collaborate with the DAPH or the welfare organizations to resolve issues humanely without resorting to senseless killing.
In Sri Lanka, an inspiring example of the hospitality industry promoting kindness to animals comes from Jetwing Hotels which “fully support the animal welfare work” of the Dogstar Foundation which sterilizes, vaccinates and treats not only strays living at or near the Jetwing Hotels, but also those elsewhere in Negombo.A few hotels have accepted offers by animal welfare campaigners to have strays sterilized, rather than eliminating or abandoning them where they cannot survive.
So there are plenty of humane options for our tourist resorts to pursue.That may help this “land like no other” to be viewed as a “paradise isle” and not hell for animals.