Part 10: Animal Protection and Welfare Flashcards
Animal Attractions in Tourism
- commonly part of holiday destination
- generally popular with holiday maker
- visitors want to see/interact with animals
- want to be assured of welfare of animals
- want to see them, but not to see them harmed
Animals in the tourism industry
16,000 - elephant (1/4 world total number)
75% elephant in tourism taken from the wild
5,000 tigers in US alone (wild only 3,200)
8,000 lions kept and bred (double in wild and reserves)
1,600 bottlenose dolphins use to entertainment (3,000 die every year in nets)
Perspective of animals around the world
Different and dependant on their utilization/purpose, social, and culture setting — can lead to tension, conflict/misunderstanding
eg:
Culture: eating certain animas; bullfights
Religious: impurity of street dogs/pigs in Islam
Social: dealing with farm animals, insects, dangerous animals
Animals welfare risks to travel industry
Risk of
- reputation damage
- health and safety
- customer complaints
- local loss in nature and biodiversity
ABTA animal welfare guidelines in 2014
- showing good and bad practices/standards
- providing balanced and science-based information
- intended for travel providers, tourist boards, destination governments, and animals attraction suppliers
General guideline standards to animal attractions
- should be legally and in accordance to country’s legal requirements
- should comply with the minimum requirements for animal welfare
unacceptable practices
those that are known to have a detrimental effect on animal welfare
eg: performance against natural behaviour, cockfighting, tiger farms, trophy hunting
Discouraged practices
may pose a risk to tourist health and safety and/or a possible risk to animal welfare
eg: ritual animal slaughter, feeding with live biotic prey, acquisition of wild animals
The legal Dimension of animal welfare
- complex and subject to area
- CITES internationally accepted (enforcement varies on place)
- CITES regulates trade in animals appearing on UUCN’s red list
Animals welfare: Five Freedoms
- Freedom from thirst and hunger
- Freedom from discomfort
- Freedom from pain, injury, and disease
- Freedom to express normal behaviour
- Freedom from fear and distress
Minimum requirement of animals welfare
- have regular, daily access to cleaning drinking water
- fed appropriate food/feeding routine - stimulates natural behaviour
- in captivity - free to move and exercise - maintain sufficient distance from other animals to avoid conflict
- employee vet with knowledge/experience of relevant animals
- no alteration/modification of skin, tissues, teeth/bone structure, no sedation to make safe to handle
Categories in animal welfare tourism
Wildlife in captivity: attractions, display in hotels
Other infliction: strays, working, wildlife watching
Problems with Dolphinaria
Origin: illegally caught, very picky about which ones, rest killed
Shows: pools too small, unnatural behaviour (drugs), mental/emotional/physical stress, food as rewards
Elephant exploitation Consequences
setback: 10,000+ die for ivory trade, injuries on rides, maltreated to break will
Milestones: sanctuaries built to retire, ivory trade banned in several countries, more tours stop offering rides
Animal Sanctuaries best practices
- a facility that rescues animals that are either/or:
- injured
- confiscated
- orphaned
- abandoned
- It provides short or long-term refuge and/or rehabilitation
- It should have all relevant regional, national and local government permits and licences.
- In a sanctuary or orphanage
- animals cannot be bought or sold
- animals should be kept in conditions that meet their species-specific needs
