This UK Travel Company Is the First to Stop Promoting Zoos
After considering the ways in which animals suffer in captivity, UK travel company Responsible Travel has become the first to end all promotions of zoos.
The company announced the welcome news this morning, stating that whilst its customers’ interest in animal tourism has grown, people are also searching for responsible trips that don’t exploit animals. It made this statement about why it’s against keeping animals in captivity:
It’s not a humane thing to do, and there is evidence that some species develop unnatural behaviours as a result of stress that are not seen in the wild as a result of frustration or stress. This includes repetitive pacing and circling, or head-bobbing and swaying in species such as elephants and bears.
This is an important step towards changing public perception of zoos, which would have the public mistakenly believe that they’re serving an educational purpose. Seeing animals trapped in small and often barren enclosures teaches visitors nothing about their natural behaviour.
Only a tiny percentage of the money zoos make from exhibiting captive animals goes to conservation projects, and very few captive animals are ever reintroduced to the wild.
Responsible Travel has already taken a stand against bullfighting and elephant rides and is now setting a precedent for other travel companies to drop cruel animal attractions.
