Guide to Sustainable Animal Activities
When traveling, so many people fall for trying to do anything they can just to get a perfect photo for Instagram, including doing unethical activities with animals. That’s why when traveling, it’s essential to be aware of what is sustainable and isn’t, especially when it comes to animals. At the very least, we should be educating one another so that participation in harmful activities ceases.
Throughout this article, you’ll learn all about sustainable animal activities as well as what you should and shouldn’t do to be a better traveler.
What are sustainable animal activities?
When traveling, it’s essential to make sure that you only participate in animal activities that are sustainable. This essentially means that these activities shouldn’t be harmful to animals or the way that they would live out in the wild.
This means that you shouldn’t participate in an activity that makes an animal behave in a way that isn’t normal for them. There are lots more tips, which you’ll find in the next section of this article.
But first, it’s crucial to think about what activities aren’t ethical. Animals aren’t meant to be forcefully ridden. They aren’t meant to be photographed in selfies or be treated as a moneymaker for a company that puts them on display. Generally, the closer to an animal you are during an activity, the less ethical it is. For instance, going on a safari is usually considered to be moral.
Unfortunately, the animal tourism industry has many companies that claim to be sustainable and ethical for the animals, but these are merely claims. That’s why it’s so important to pay close attention to the businesses that you put your money into, which companies you share on social media, and which ones you visit and participate in. By the end of this article, you’ll hopefully have great tips for being able to vet animal activities in the future and have a better idea of what’s considered sustainable and what’s not.
Tips for Choosing Sustainable Animal Activities
Below, find some tips for choosing sustainable animal activities while traveling.
1. Try to find sanctuaries, but make sure it’s actually a sanctuary
At the very least, try to help out and visit places that are sanctuaries. Sanctuaries usually work to help animals who have been injured in the wild, and the people that work at them help nurse them back to health. They are often looking for extra hands from volunteer travelers to help out.
However, unfortunately, many places may claim to be a sanctuary even though they aren’t. It’s important to vet a business and make sure that it is actually a sanctuary, and it’s pretty easy to find this out online, which brings me to my next point.
2. Research thoroughly before you visit somewhere
Before visiting somewhere, do every bit of research you can. Look it up online, check out their website, read all of the reviews you possibly can online, and more. You really have to thoroughly vet a place because their website might say one thing, only for you to find out that they have one-star ratings because of how they run their place of business and treat their animals.
When it comes to research, it’s essential to make sure you check multiple sources. You also want to make sure that you spend at least 30 minutes to an hour before you conclude whether a place is actually helping animals or not.
3. Make sure that animals aren’t kept in areas that are unnatural for them
Animals aren’t meant to be in cages, and that’s the cold hard truth. If you visit a place like a zoo, you should automatically be aware that it’s unethical because of how the animals are kept. Yes, zoos are working hard to make sure that animals are kept in typical environments, but this isn’t how animals are supposed to live at the end of the day.
An animal should be kept in its natural habitat as closely as possible - like a safari! If you visit a place and you’re immediately uncomfortable because of how an animal is being locked up, then you’re not in a good place.
4. If you have the opportunity to take photos touching an animal, its likely not a good place to be
It’s plain and simple: animals aren’t meant to be camera fodder for you to take a selfie. Despite what so many Instagram influencers post on their feed when traveling, if you have the opportunity to take a photo touching an animal, you’re most likely at a place that isn’t good for animals.
What goes hand in hand with this is making sure that you don’t fall prey and post photos with animals. By doing this, you’re promoting the idea that doing something like this is okay. Think before you post! Aim to educate, not promote.
5. Make donations when you can
If you find a place that is ethical for animals and works to help them, try to make a donation if you can. Every little bit helps, and it’s good to keep the people that are helping animals in business because they’re actually making a difference in the world.
Many of these places will have donation boxes, but you can usually also make donations online instead. Sometimes you may even get something like a t-shirt in return for donating, which can, in turn, help you promote them by wearing their t-shirt.
6. Find a local guide to help you
Often, local guides are experts in the area and can help you find what is and isn’t sustainable animal tourism within the area. It’s essential to find a guide that cares deeply about animals, though, or you may be fooled by someone who claims to be an expert guide.
Make it clear to a local that you care deeply about animals and only want to participate in ethical activities so that you don’t promote or help a business participating in harmful practices. This is important to mention!
7. Don’t do anything that an animal isn’t meant to do
As a general rule of thumb, if an animal is doing something that it wouldn’t do on its own in its natural habitat, then you probably shouldn’t do it. For instance, riding an elephant or a camel isn’t something that these animals would do in their natural habitat if humans weren’t involved.
Another example of this is swimming with animals. While something like swimming with dolphins or sharks may seem like a fun activity to you, these animals aren’t used to swimming with humans. This would not be something they would be doing if they were out in the ocean like they are supposed to be. Just be mindful of your choices!
8. Travel in smaller groups
Any place that allows visitors to come in huge groups is usually unethical. Animals aren’t used to being around huge crowds of people, no matter how many times they may be put next to big groups.
Traditionally, the smaller the group, the more ethical the activity is. This isn’t always true, but usually, the fewer people involved in the activity, the more that the company is looking out for the animal’s wellbeing. This goes back to doing research in my second point. Make sure you pay close attention to how many people are allowed to volunteer at once.
9. Take the time to spread awareness and educate others
This was slightly touched on in an earlier point, but you want to make sure that you take the time to spread awareness and educate others. Not everyone knows that some activities aren’t ethical because they see all of these photos posted online with other animals, making them think that it’s okay.
Write blog posts, videos, or even posts on social media with captions that educate and explain to others what is and isn’t ethical. If you find a business that is working hard to do good with animals, then make sure you let others know about them too.
10. Don’t feed the animals and keep your distance
You shouldn’t feed animals, especially because you might feed them something that they aren’t allowed to eat. You also shouldn’t participate in an experience that allows you to get really close to an animal unless it’s truly at a sanctuary.
Usually, the farther away from the animal you are, the more ethical the activity is. As mentioned earlier, animals are not supposed to be right next to humans. That’s just not how they are in their natural habitat, so don’t force them to be next to you either.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article has helped inform you about sustainable animal travel to make educated decisions in the future while traveling. We all must work together to promote ethical tourism with animals, or we can seriously harm them in the long run. Even if you’ve participated in an unethical animal activity in the past, hopefully you now know what to do moving forward.
Can you think of any more tips? Leave a comment below!