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US-based booking
engine, and review company, TripAdvisor has announced that they will no longer
be selling tickets to attractions involving paid contact between humans and
wild animals.
‘No
touching animals’
Coined the ‘no
touching of wild animals policy’, the new guidelines forbid the sale of tickets
to attractions that involve handling of captive, wild or endangered animals.
This would
would include such popular tourist lures as swimming with dolphins, petting tigers, and riding elephants, as it applies to both marine and land animals.
Praise
The move
has been well received by members of organizations invested in animal rights
and welfare.
PETA
representative Stephanie Shaw said: “We applaud TripAdvisor taking this stance,
helping to raise awareness. Elephant training, for example, is brutal and
cruel.”
Loophole
Others,
however, have pointed out that there’s a loophole in the policy, and that it
still allows for animal exploitation in the name of entertainment.
The Whale
and Dolphin Conservation Society’s Danny Groves said: “This is a positive step,
but it does not address the issue of promoting trips to see whales and dolphins
that are held captive.
“It would
be great to see TripAdvisor take action in this regard.”
