The Coalition for Ethical Wildlife Tourism

An alliance of committed travel industry leaders from across the globe working to end cruel wildlife entertainment

Ethical wildlife tourism is the future

More than 500,000 wild animals worldwide, including elephants, sloths, tigers and dolphins, are suffering for tourist entertainment. Depending on the species, the cruelty can involve snatching from the wild, ‘training’ with beatings, isolation and chaining, severely inadequate living conditions and forced contact with people.

Despite a growing awareness amongst tourists and travel companies, around 110 million people still visit cruel wildlife attractions annually, either independently or through tour operators or travel agents. Therefore, in a time when tourism is growing, more action is needed.

Members of the coalition acknowledge all of the above, as well as their unique position to change the lives of wild animals for the better.

By working together, coalition members aim to:

prove a strong demand and support for venues to become elephant-friendly (observation only) to increase the supply of truly ethical, high welfare elephant venues.
drive industry standards and government legislation that better protect wild animals and phase out cruel wildlife entertainment practices.

Who we are

Our coalition is made up of representatives from the travel industry and World Animal Protection:

ANVR
DER Touristik
EXO Travel
G Adventures & Planeterra Foundation
Intrepid Group & The Intrepid Foundation
QYER
Thomas Cook Group
The Travel Corporation & TreadRight Foundation
TUI Group
TUI Care Foundation
World Expeditions

The coalition came about after initial interest from travel industry stakeholders at the roundtable 'Moving towards an elephant-friendly future', organised by us during ITB Berlin in 2016.

Several coalition members appear in our new documentary which showcases our support and work to transition an elephant riding camp into the observation only, elephant-friendly venue, ChangChill.

Read the report on our work in ChangChill, The Making of an Elephant Friendly Future, here.

Join our movement

The travel industry plays a critical role in reducing demand for wildlife entertainment

Take a look at our list of elephant-friendly travel companies here.

Over 256 travel companies have joined us and committed to stop selling and promoting venues that offer elephant rides and shows. Many of these companies have gone further, also committing to stop selling any wildlife entertainment, whether it is watching a dolphin perform in a show or direct interaction with a tiger for a photo-op.

As a responsible leader in the travel industry, you know your businesses must continue to adapt to provide meaningful customer experiences and ensure wild animals are protected.

Our new Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity (CAMMIC) report details, with scientific evidence, why we should never force whales, dolphins and other marine mammals to live in artificial environments.

It’s a damning portrait of the behind-the-scenes cruelty of zoos, aquariums, and marine theme parks that breed, trade and exploit captive marine mammals for entertainment.

Tourists and the global travel industry are a key source of demand for captive marine mammal facilities. Join us and help end the suffering of captive marine mammals.

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