The impact of tourism on animals

different types of tourisms

• winter mountain tourism

• summer mountain tourism

• nature tourism

• cruise ship tourism

• urban tourism

• coastal tourism

sustainable tourism

• “Sustainable tourism takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities” (UNWTO, 2015)

• It often utilizes natural resources as part of the tourism product, all the while preserving these resources and the ecosystems and biodiversity that support them

sustainable tourism criteria

• eco-tourism

• mass tourism

• cultural tourism

• adventure tourism

• epicurean tourism

• rural tourism

ecotourism

Nature-based sustainable tourism or ECOTOURISM is referred to as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people and involves interpretation and education”

segments of ecotourism: some examples

• Ecotourism in wildlife: in its simplest way, watching wild animals in their natural habitat

• Eco adventure travels: combination of adventurous activities with environmentally responsible awareness

wildlife tourism

→ Wildlife tourism accounts for between 20% and 40% of all global tourism with 3.6 million visitors around the world

→ Wildlife attractions very diverse: broadly be grouped into 5 distinct categories:

1. Sanctuaries (whose main purpose is to protect wild animals)

2. Interactions with captive animals (zoos, elephant trekking);

3. Wild attractions (e.g., gibbon watching)

4. Street performances (e.g., snake charming)

5. Wildlife farms where tourists observe animals bred for another purpose (e.g., civet farms; bear bile farms);

→ Consumptive wildlife tourism (hunting, fishing): excluded as tourists undertaking these activities will be aware of their direct impacts on the wildlife

sustainable tourism → animals are important components of sustainable tourism

When sustainable tourism depends on animals as a key component of the tourism product, their health and welfare are fundamental to long-term business success, consumer satisfaction, economic development, and biodiversity conservation

ecotourism → The Five Freedoms

The integration of The Five Freedoms into sustainable tourism business practices can promote a more economically, environmentally and socially responsible industry that protects the welfare of animals.

• Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (2016): analysis of 24 types of wildlife attractions across the world, considering both animal welfare (Five Freedoms) and conservation.

• The Conservation Scores were collected using information about where the animals were sourced from (e.g., domesticated vs wild), together with any other beneficial efforts that were used (e.g., education or habitat protection)

animal sanctuary from “PAWS” (performing animal welfare society)

• Ideally (wildlife): a place of refuge where abused, injured and abandoned captive wildlife may live in peace and dignity for the remainder of their lives.

• True wildlife sanctuaries do not breed or exploit for commercial activities (including, but not limited to: use of animals for entertainment or sport, sale or trade of animals, their offspring or animal parts and by-products.)

• A true sanctuary respects the integrity of individual animals, providing safe, healthy, and secure refuge in enclosures specifically designed for the unique animals whom they support

animal sanctuary

• Some wildlife attractions market themselves as “sanctuaries”

• With this change in marketing practice, the clear lines between wildlife attraction and sanctuary are becoming increasingly blurred

wildlife tourism that involves interaction with captive (or domestic) animals

• working animals

• zoos

• marine mammal parks

• swimming with captive dolphins

• tiger interactions

• walking with lions

• bear parks

• elephant parks/trekking

wild attractions

→ Dolphin interaction (wild)

→ Gorilla trekking

→ Gibbon watching

→ Shark cage diving

→ Polar bear sightseeing

• Wild attractions can provide opportunities and livelihoods for local community, which in turn gives the local people an incentive to protect wildlife, thus helping long-term conservation efforts

• Conversely improperly managed attractions: short- and long-tern effect on animal behavior, and on habitat alteration/loss

street performance

• Bear dancing

• Snake charming

• Hyena men in Nigeria

• Street dancing macaques

→ Animals are transported across the country in cramped boxcars or semi-truck trailers; chained or caged in enclosures; separated from their natural environments.

→ Encouraging street performances and paying vendors fuels the demand for animals, which are either cruelly captured from the wild or bred in poor conditions

bear dancing

• Bears from the wild (the Sloth Bear) as cubs; forced “to dance” on the streets, mainly used as a form of begging.

• Usually kept by very poor, semi- nomadic people who travel from village to village with their bears

• Training methods, poor “housing” conditions, health issues

• The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1890) prohibits bear baiting in Pakistan, but it does not include bear dancing or using a bear for begging; bear dancing: outlawed by the Indian government in 1972

• Bulgaria, 1993; Russia

snake charming

• According to Hinduism, the snake- loving god Shiva sent 12 devotees named Nath to all corners of India: “Nath” common name in the charmer community.

• Almost all defanged, and kept in very small traditional containers

• Defanging: to remove a snake’s fangs to avoid his bites → a venomoid; a painful procedure and the fangs will grow back anyway (∼ 4 wks); digestive issues, stomatitis; better to remove venom glands (venom ducts)

• Microchipping the snakes to prevent abuse or illegal trading: the microchips are embedded below the skin to survive the snake’s molting process.

• The chips act as name tags that legalize ownership and help ward off officials threatening to fine, extract a bribe or jail the charmer under laws designed to protect wildlife.

• Indian Wildlife Act 1972

hyena men in Nigeria

• Children are trained to tame the wild animals from birth, being fed potions the nomads believe enables them to handle them without fear of harm.

• “The hyena boys must also be tamed, fed strange medicines from infancy, and plied with snakes to be integrated into the community fuelled by the belief that they are spiritually connected to the animals”

street dancing macaques

• From the forest they are captured and taken to “monkey villages”: training methods welfare issues

• The street performances: monkeys wearing masks, such as dolls' heads, other attire to mimic humans; “Topeng Monyet” (Monkey's Mask)

• The monkeys have been trained to act out activities such as shopping, riding bicycles, or other simulations of human behavior.

the socioeconomic impact of whale watching tourism in costa rica

The problem: decline in global fisheries is threatening the livelihoods of coastal communities

• According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), “Costa Rica’s fishery sector is very important socially and economically as a source of foreign currency but, above all, because of the employment it generates in marginal and economically deprived areas”, i.e., the country’s coastal areas

• Coastal fishery are fished to a maximum or overfished: create alternative employment

The solution: whale watching provides a sustainable alternative income generating activity

impact on wale watching tourism

Impact: whale watching activities serve also as a tool for environmental conservation and the promotion of animal welfare

• Regions that depend heavily on whale watching as a source of income are more likely to be aware of issue surrounding marine conservation and sustainable fisheries

• WW can also spur small-scale local entrepreneurship

Rapid growth of whale watching has left the industry vulnerable to uncontrolled and unsustainable growth. Furthermore, in certain destinations, whale watching companies are dominated by foreigners or nationals from other part of the country, making it difficult for the locals to capture the better jobs within the supply chain

Recommendation: requiring tour operators to register with national/local institutions who can then regulate their numbers and ensure that the industry grows at a sustainable rate; such institutions should also take steps to provide training and financial resources to local entrepreneurs so that they can become operators. Forming local associations or cooperatives also facilitates social inclusion and local participation

Insufficient monitoring of tour operators can lead to inadequate training, lack of accurate information for tourists, and other poor whale watching practices

Recommendation: more substantial training for tour operators will help to ensure best practices in animal welfare are followed, and that tours are of high quality and educational value. This will also enhance the tourist experience

Irresponsible whale watching practices can distract the animals from normal feeding, resting, and mating behavior; and, over time, animals may be forced to leave the area due to accumulated stress, thereby destroying the local whale watching industry.

Recommendation: developing an official certification program for whale watching businesses will ensure that best practices in animal welfare and whale watching are followed, and therefore support the long-term sustainability of the industry