Wildlife. Not entertainers

Wildlife. Not Entertainers.

Want to see wildlife on holiday? You’re not alone.

But did you know that wild animals around the world are facing a lifetime of suffering, just to entertain tourists?

If you can hug, ride, touch or take a photo with a wild animal, the chances are it has suffered some kind of cruelty.

The reality of wildlife tourism

Recently released undercover footage has exposed the hidden reality of the physical and psychological trauma that elephants are put through for tourist entertainment – a lifetime of horror for a ‘once in a lifetime’ holiday experience. 

Warning: distressing content 

The video makes for very difficult viewing. It includes eight young elephants being: 

• forcibly taken from their mothers
• tied to wooden structures while beaten repeatedly
• walking hobbled in chains

We are urgently calling for a complete overhaul of the way captive elephants are treated, before tourism gradually resumes following its collapse during COVID-19. You can be a part of this change and join our movement by signing up to our pledge to be a responsible tourist.

Changing the world, together

Petitions take just seconds to support and can be incredibly powerful. In 2007, over 240,000 supporters worldwide signed our Wildlife Selfie Code. Our campaign also inspired Instagram to take action to raise awareness of the suffering of wild animals caught in the entertainment industry.

In 2016, 558,000 supporters signed our petition asking TripAdvisor to stop selling tickets to cruel wildlife attractions. They listened. They have stopped selling tickets to some of the world’s cruellest tourist activities, and their website now hosts a new education portal, that will educate millions of tourists about the cruelties imposed upon wild animals by exploitative attractions. 

We are continuing our work to to protect wild animals from cruelty in the name of entertainment.