Travel Companies Rebuked for Exploiting Wildlife for Entertainment

25.08.2023 - 14:20 / skift.com / Travel Experiences / Selene Brophy

Sustainable travel has developed a sense of urgency post-pandemic. However, while carbon emissions, environmental degradation, and cultural sensitivity are picked apart at length, animal exploitation through the sale of captive wildlife entertainment has received less pushback.

And tour operators, in particular, are said to be “failing wildlife by selling exploitative experiences and attractions or by operating their business without concern for animal exploitation.” This is according to a new responsible tourism report commissioned by World Animal Protection and undertaken by the University of Surrey.

The study reviewed nine leading travel companies on their experiences involving animals. Five influential tours and activities companies, Traveloka, Trip,com, Klook, GetYourGuide and TUI Musement were pinpointed for “selling harmful exploitative wildlife experiences across a wide range of wild animal species.” The report scored four of these companies under 10 percent for their businesses’ consideration to animal welfare across their policies, targets, and supply chains. Read the full report here.

Essentially, the report states brand trust is a significant enabling factor of animal exploitation. Well-known brands who promote and sell wildlife entertainment venues lead tourists to assume the activities are acceptable, or even beneficial for wild animals, when in fact they are inhumane and cause lifelong harm to wildlife,” it suggested.

The  r report is said to build on World Animal Protection’s 2020  report, which assessed Airbnb, AttractionTickets.com, Booking.com, DER Touristik, Expedia, Flight Centre, GetYourGuide, Klook, The Travel Corporation, Viator, Trip.com and TUI Musement.

Independent analysis of these companies scored them across factors related to offering exploitative wildlife entertainment activities. It also looked at whether these companies had the necessary animal welfare policies and vetting procedures in place and how these harmful activities and suppliers were filtered and removed if found to be against the companies’ policies.

Skift reached out for comment on the rating and only two operators responded at the time of publishing.

As part of a dominant operator, TUI Musement’s approach received a rating of 51 percent according to the report’s assessment criteria. A spokesperson told Skift the company sees “high interest for animal attractions and wildlife-viewing opportunities” from its customers.

TUI said its ABTA’s animal welfare guidelines have been in place since 2016. It claimed the framework, developed in consultation with industry experts, includes third-party external audits of animal-involved activities. Suppliers who do not successfully pass the audits are given a roadmap