Animal Cruelty for Tourists’ Entertainment: An Industry in Need of Reform

Editor’s note: This article was updated by World Footprints publisher Tonya Fitzpatrick with current research, revised context and additional guidance on identifying harmful wildlife attractions. The original reporting and central argument have been preserved.

The photograph may last only a few seconds: a traveler hugging an orangutan, bathing an elephant or posing beside a tiger. What the image rarely shows is how the animal was trained, where it lives after visitors leave or whether it can escape the interaction.

Animal cruelty in tourism often remains hidden behind words such as sanctuary, rescue, education and conservation. Attractions may look gentler than they once did, but a change in marketing does not always mean a change in animal welfare.

Travelers are increasingly questioning encounters that allow them to ride, touch, feed, hold or swim with captive wild animals. Yet these experiences remain widely available because tourists continue to buy tickets, book excursions and share the results on social media.

Bali’s Wildlife Tourism Problem Continues

An earlier World Animal Protection investigation examined wildlife attractions on the Indonesian islands of Bali and Lombok. It found that every venue housing captive elephants, tigers, dolphins or civet cats failed to meet even the animals’ basic needs. Most venues with captive primates also failed to provide adequate conditions.

Swimming with dolphins in captivity

The findings included elephants used for rides and performances, orangutans handled for photographs and dolphins confined for swimming experiences.

At one dolphin venue, investigators reported that some dolphins had their teeth filed down or removed to reduce the risk of serious bites during interactions with visitors.

Years later, a follow-up examination of wildlife attractions in Bali found little meaningful improvement. Animals were still being used for selfies, shows and close-contact encounters. Some businesses promoted themselves as conservation centers even while restricting animals to inadequate spaces or forcing them to interact with tourists.

The problem is not limited to Bali. Similar attractions operate throughout Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and the United States.

The Entertainment Often Begins With Trauma

Wild animals do not naturally perform tricks, carry people, pose for photographs or remain still while strangers touch them.

Training an animal to tolerate those experiences often involves separating it from its mother, restricting its movement and using punishment or intimidation to make it compliant. Visitors usually never see that process.

“For the unsuspecting tourist, what is being done to make these animals submissive or keep them available for personal contact happens behind the scenes, and is invisible to the people that pay for this experience,” the World Animal Protection report states.

The animal presented to visitors may appear calm. That does not mean it is comfortable. It may have learned that resistance brings punishment or that it has no way to withdraw.

Repeated handling can also cause stress. Animals may be passed from one visitor to another, exposed to crowds and noise or required to repeat the same behavior throughout the day.

Elephant Tourism Has Changed Its Marketing

Elephant rides and circus-style performances have drawn growing criticism. In response, some attractions have replaced them with experiences marketed as kinder alternatives.

Travelers may now be invited to bathe, wash, feed or walk beside elephants at a venue calling itself a sanctuary.

Those activities can still require the animals to be controlled, restrained and trained for close human contact. An elephant does not naturally spend its day standing in a river while groups of strangers wash it.

World Animal Protection’s 2026 assessment of 2,849 elephants at 236 tourism venues in Thailand found that roughly two-thirds lived in poor conditions. More than half were kept on short chains during the day, 42% were still used for rides and one in five lived at venues offering shows.

Only a small percentage participated in higher-welfare, observation-only experiences.

The research also found that bathing and hand-feeding had increased. These activities can look ethical in promotional photographs, particularly when the words rescue center or retirement home appear in the venue’s name. But names are not evidence of good treatment.

A responsible elephant experience allows visitors to observe from a distance while the animals roam, forage and socialize without being forced to perform or make contact.

Social Media Keeps the Demand Alive

Wildlife selfies and videos can make harmful encounters look harmless. A smiling traveler beside a tiger or a video of a monkey dressed like a person rarely shows how the animal was trained or where it lives after the camera is turned off.

Each ticket, post and share can increase demand for animals that are held, dressed, ridden or trained to pose. Even comments criticizing the treatment may increase a post’s reach.

Before sharing or engaging with wildlife content, consider whether the image is helping an attraction profit from an animal’s distress.

Blackfish Changed the Public Conversation

The 2013 documentary Blackfish examined the life of Tilikum, an orca captured near Iceland and later used in SeaWorld performances. The film challenged the idea that marine-mammal shows were harmless family entertainment.

It also raised questions about whether highly intelligent and social animals can thrive in artificial environments designed around paying audiences.

SeaWorld ended its orca-breeding program in 2016 and replaced theatrical shows with presentations described as educational. Orcas remain in captivity, however. The change shows that public pressure can influence business practices without resolving every animal-welfare concern.

Changing the language surrounding an attraction does not necessarily change the conditions in which the animals live.

“Sanctuary” Is Not a Guarantee

A business may call itself a sanctuary, rescue center or retirement home without operating as a genuine refuge.

Legitimate sanctuaries put animal welfare first. They do not breed animals to maintain a supply of babies, force performances or guarantee physical contact for paying visitors. Animals should also have space to retreat when they do not want to be seen.

Be cautious when a venue:

• allows riding, bathing, cuddling or posing with wild animals;
• guarantees physical contact or photographs;
• has a steady supply of baby animals;
• stages tricks or performances;
• keeps animals chained or in barren enclosures;
• allows visitors to walk with large predators;
• cannot clearly explain where its animals came from; or
• makes vague conservation claims without showing how funds are used.

Some credible sanctuaries may allow limited feeding when it supports an animal’s care. The important question is whether the activity exists for the animal’s benefit or primarily for visitor entertainment.

Positive reviews and polished websites are not proof of good treatment. Visitors may be rating the customer experience without seeing what happens behind the scenes.

The Industry Has Begun to Respond

Some tour operators, booking platforms and travel associations have adopted animal-welfare policies. Traditional elephant rides and wildlife shows have also declined in parts of the industry.

These changes matter, but standards remain inconsistent. A company may stop selling rides while continuing to promote bathing, feeding or other direct-contact experiences.

Some travel businesses remove attractions from their booking systems, while others continue publishing reviews and photographs that direct travelers toward them. Voluntary policies also depend on monitoring and enforcement.

Without meaningful oversight, attractions can simply rebrand harmful practices rather than end them.

What Ethical Wildlife Tourism Looks Like

Responsible wildlife tourism places the animal’s needs ahead of the visitor’s photograph.

Animals should be observed in the wild or at reputable rescue centers where they have enough space to move naturally and retreat from visitors. They should not be forced to perform, pose or remain available for constant interaction.

Ethical operators:

• limit noise and group size;
• maintain appropriate distances;
• avoid baiting animals;
• do not guarantee sightings;
• prevent forced contact;
• employ knowledgeable guides; and
• explain how revenue supports conservation or long-term care.

Responsible attractions also acknowledge that wildlife cannot be controlled for a visitor’s convenience.

A genuine wildlife experience may involve waiting, watching from a distance or not seeing the animal at all. That uncertainty is part of encountering wildlife on its own terms.

Travelers Have More Power Than They Realize

Not every captive animal can be released into the wild. Some were born in captivity, have lost the skills needed to survive or require lifelong veterinary care. Reputable sanctuaries therefore need long-term financial support.

Reform must also end breeding animals for entertainment and provide alternatives for local workers and communities that depend on wildlife tourism. Simply closing attractions without a plan could leave both animals and employees in worse conditions.

Travel companies should scrutinize the attractions they sell, while governments should strengthen animal-welfare laws, licensing and enforcement. Social-media platforms should also stop rewarding content built on animal exploitation.

Travelers can help by refusing experiences based on forced contact or performance.

Before booking, ask whether the experience serves the animal’s needs or simply entertains visitors. If an animal must be restrained or trained for visitor contact, touched by tourists or made to perform, walk away.

 

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