Animal Experiences Abroad
One of the most tempting things to do when you are off on an amazing adventure is to get up close and personal with wild animals. Due to different animal welfare regulations, it is often possible to do things like ride elephants or cuddle baby lions.
I would urge you to be very, very careful and to do a lot of research about exactly what you are supporting before handing over your money. That photo you just took with a lion cub has far reaching implications. That ride you just took on the back of an elephant was only possible because of the torture they put the elephant through first. Please take the time to educate yourself and do not contribute to horrific animal abuse.
Elephant Riding
Wild elephants won’t let humans ride on top of them. So in order to tame a wild elephant, it is tortured as a baby to completely break its spirit. The process is called Phajaan, or “the crush”.
It involves ripping baby elephants away from their mothers and confining them in a very small space, like a cage or hole in the ground where they’re unable to move.
The baby elephants are then beaten into submission with clubs, pierced with sharp bull-hooks, and simultaneously starved and deprived of sleep for many days.
Did you know that riding elephants can actually cause serious long-term harm? Their spines are not made to support the weight of humans. I know it’s hard to believe given their size, but Zebras are the same way.
Most people who participate in elephant tourism are completely unaware of how they are treated.
From: http://expertvagabond.com/elephants-in-thailand/
See Also:
Wild elephants won’t let humans ride on top of them. So in order to tame a wild elephant, it is tortured as a baby to completely break its spirit. The process is called Phajaan, or “the crush”.
It involves ripping baby elephants away from their mothers and confining them in a very small space, like a cage or hole in the ground where they’re unable to move.
The baby elephants are then beaten into submission with clubs, pierced with sharp bull-hooks, and simultaneously starved and deprived of sleep for many days.
Did you know that riding elephants can actually cause serious long-term harm? Their spines are not made to support the weight of humans. I know it’s hard to believe given their size, but Zebras are the same way.
Most people who participate in elephant tourism are completely unaware of how they are treated.
From: http://expertvagabond.com/elephants-in-thailand/
See Also:
Petting Lion Cubs
The cubs used for petting exhibits are torn from their mothers shortly after birth, causing emotional pain to both the cubs and the mothers. Imagine what that mother experiences after enduring the long pregnancy and finally giving birth, filled with the instincts to nurture her cubs, and then having them snatched away. The breeders take them away and have people handle them so the cubs will “imprint” on the people instead of doing what is natural and imprinting on their mothers.
And what is life like during the months they are used to make money for their owners? Cubs this age want roam, explore, test their young muscles to develop coordination, and sleep for extended periods of time without interruption. Watch what happens during these exhibits. The cubs are repeatedly awakened so a customer can pet them instead of being allowed the sleep their young bodies need. When they try to wander they are repeatedly yanked back. And where are they when not on exhibit? They spend endless hours in small cages in trucks, hardly a suitable environment for inquisitive, active young cubs.
While used for petting by the public or held for photos with the public, the cubs squirm and try to get away. What do the exhibitors do to control them?
One technique used by exhibitors to get the cubs to stop squirming is blowing in the cub’s face. Contrary to what the exhibitors say, this does not “calm” the cub. The cub does not like this any more than you would. This blowing in the face is a way mother tigers discipline their cubs. It is a punishment. The cub becomes inactive temporarily not because the cub is calm. The cub becomes inactive hoping that not moving will cause the exhibitor to stop blowing in its face.
The other technique is to dangle the cub from under their front armpits and toss them up and down in the air. One notorious exhibitor tells customers this is to “reset” the cubs. Another tells customers that this is how the mother tiger holds the cubs, which is equally ridiculous. Being held under the arms and tossed up in the air is just another unnatural and unpleasant experience that causes the cub stress, making them temporarily stop doing the behavior that is natural, i.e. trying to squirm away from being held.
The cubs are then destined for a horrible existence after they are too big to use to make money.
From: http://bigcatrescue.org/abuse-issues/issues/pet-cubs/
See also:
The cubs used for petting exhibits are torn from their mothers shortly after birth, causing emotional pain to both the cubs and the mothers. Imagine what that mother experiences after enduring the long pregnancy and finally giving birth, filled with the instincts to nurture her cubs, and then having them snatched away. The breeders take them away and have people handle them so the cubs will “imprint” on the people instead of doing what is natural and imprinting on their mothers.
And what is life like during the months they are used to make money for their owners? Cubs this age want roam, explore, test their young muscles to develop coordination, and sleep for extended periods of time without interruption. Watch what happens during these exhibits. The cubs are repeatedly awakened so a customer can pet them instead of being allowed the sleep their young bodies need. When they try to wander they are repeatedly yanked back. And where are they when not on exhibit? They spend endless hours in small cages in trucks, hardly a suitable environment for inquisitive, active young cubs.
While used for petting by the public or held for photos with the public, the cubs squirm and try to get away. What do the exhibitors do to control them?
One technique used by exhibitors to get the cubs to stop squirming is blowing in the cub’s face. Contrary to what the exhibitors say, this does not “calm” the cub. The cub does not like this any more than you would. This blowing in the face is a way mother tigers discipline their cubs. It is a punishment. The cub becomes inactive temporarily not because the cub is calm. The cub becomes inactive hoping that not moving will cause the exhibitor to stop blowing in its face.
The other technique is to dangle the cub from under their front armpits and toss them up and down in the air. One notorious exhibitor tells customers this is to “reset” the cubs. Another tells customers that this is how the mother tiger holds the cubs, which is equally ridiculous. Being held under the arms and tossed up in the air is just another unnatural and unpleasant experience that causes the cub stress, making them temporarily stop doing the behavior that is natural, i.e. trying to squirm away from being held.
The cubs are then destined for a horrible existence after they are too big to use to make money.
From: http://bigcatrescue.org/abuse-issues/issues/pet-cubs/
See also:
So Is There a Humane Way to Interact With Animals?
Well, this depends on where your own personal ethics lay. Some people feel that there is no way to interact with wild animals that does not cause them harm in some way. In a perfect world, I actually tend to agree with these people.
However, we live in an imperfect world. Many conservation efforts rely on donations and public funding to exist. Letting the public interact with animals, letting them see the animal up close and learn about their plight means they often take that inspiration home. Sharing the story of animals is a big part of conservation efforts, just as much as research and field work.
To this end, scientists, researchers and conversationalists work to find ways to introduce wild animals to the public is ways that are as non-stressful as possible to the animals. (This is where your research comes in.)
One example of this is Cheetah Outreach in South Africa. This rather amazing organization is truly dedicated to conservation. Their ambassador cheetahs help to teach the public, schools, communities and farmers about the terribly real possibly of extinction in the coming years. They work to provide solutions such as providing trained dogs that protect livestock and reduce the friction between farmers and predators. You can read more about this organization in the wonderful article National Geographic did on them.
There are many other examples out there of amazing people and organizations who are making a positive difference and there are ways to meet and interact with animals that are as non-intrusive and non-stressful as it is possible to be. You just have to be willing to do some homework and seek them out. Look for outside verification of the organization, ask questions about where the animals come from and how they are cared for and remember that interactions should always be short and not involve any un-natural behavours.
I can't really express how much I would have loved to have cuddled the lion cubs when I was in South Africa. I adore big cats. But I simply couldn't put my wish to spend five minutes with a cub above the cub's welfare. So I did a lot of reading, and found the Cheetah Outreach, which was an organization I was ethically okay supporting.
Well, this depends on where your own personal ethics lay. Some people feel that there is no way to interact with wild animals that does not cause them harm in some way. In a perfect world, I actually tend to agree with these people.
However, we live in an imperfect world. Many conservation efforts rely on donations and public funding to exist. Letting the public interact with animals, letting them see the animal up close and learn about their plight means they often take that inspiration home. Sharing the story of animals is a big part of conservation efforts, just as much as research and field work.
To this end, scientists, researchers and conversationalists work to find ways to introduce wild animals to the public is ways that are as non-stressful as possible to the animals. (This is where your research comes in.)
One example of this is Cheetah Outreach in South Africa. This rather amazing organization is truly dedicated to conservation. Their ambassador cheetahs help to teach the public, schools, communities and farmers about the terribly real possibly of extinction in the coming years. They work to provide solutions such as providing trained dogs that protect livestock and reduce the friction between farmers and predators. You can read more about this organization in the wonderful article National Geographic did on them.
There are many other examples out there of amazing people and organizations who are making a positive difference and there are ways to meet and interact with animals that are as non-intrusive and non-stressful as it is possible to be. You just have to be willing to do some homework and seek them out. Look for outside verification of the organization, ask questions about where the animals come from and how they are cared for and remember that interactions should always be short and not involve any un-natural behavours.
I can't really express how much I would have loved to have cuddled the lion cubs when I was in South Africa. I adore big cats. But I simply couldn't put my wish to spend five minutes with a cub above the cub's welfare. So I did a lot of reading, and found the Cheetah Outreach, which was an organization I was ethically okay supporting.