Elephant rides on holidays have been deemed unacceptable by new British Travel Association guidelines, the trade body has announced.
The trade body, which encompasses most of Britain's travel companies, said that in its new guidelines, due to be released in November, activities that include interacting with an elephant without a barrier will be deemed unacceptable. The British Travel Association writes the Animal Welfare Guidelines used by most of the travel companies in the UK, and companies abroad also look to their guidelines for advice on the issue.
The trade body hopes to encourage holiday destinations in other countries to move to activities"where the animals are viewed from an appropriate distance while providing them with as much access to their natural habitat as possible, and ensuring they are not subject to any punishment and cruelty." "It is vital that we stop thinking of direct contact with elephants, such as riding them or washing them, or watching elephant performances in captivity, as harmless fun: in reality such practices are unnatural, unnecessary and riddled with cruelty. Similar problems of captive animal exploitation exist for many other animal species, and we encourage ABTA to continue to advance their standards accordingly.
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Source: Reuters - 🏆 2. / 97 Read more »