The world’s biggest tour group has been promoting tourist trips to an elephant “orphanage” in Asia where it’s claimed “many animals were bred – rather than rescued – and are chained for long periods and threatened with bullhooks”, an investigation claims.

TUI, which is also Britain’s leading holiday company, was also allegedly found selling elephant rides to tourists, even though it claimed to have stopped in 2015 on ethical grounds.

The tour giant – and some of the world’s other best known names in travel – are accused of profiting from animal cruelty by promoting attractions worldwide where animals may be caused to suffer behind the scenes to make them compliant for holidaymakers.

Which? investigates what travel agents aren’t telling you: captive elephants subjected to chains

Which? Travel, which researched 10 holiday firms, said many were making grand-sounding pledges on animal welfare that were ultimately empty promises. The consumer group said its findings included:

Expedia was selling tickets to a show in Thailand that featured tigers trained to jump through hoops of fire

TripAdvisor promoted a wildlife park where photographs showed the reptiles’ jaws taped shut

Trailfinders was selling trips to an elephant centre whose owner also runs a notorious camp where the animals are allegedly forced to play football and throw darts

Riviera Travel was offering a safari in Nepal’s Chitwan National Park with an elephant ride, with each animal carrying four people

The investigators slated TUI for its response to their findings, claiming that unlike some tour operators, it failed to take any action and even “blanked” Which? Travel.

Some companies removed tours from their websites after being challenged about them by Which? Travel or The Independent.

Elephant treks have repeatedly been exposed as cruel because of the way the animals are first trained, then kept and overworked. As babies, they are put through a process called “the crush” in which they are tethered by ropes or chains, deprived of adequate food and water and beaten. The practice teaches the young elephants to be afraid of people and to do as they are ordered, for fear of painful punishment.

Tourists around the world have been urged by campaigners not to ride elephants or support businesses that sell rides, although many elephant treks are still sold to holidaymakers in countries such as Thailand and India. The elephants in some cases are forced to carry the weight of more people than they can comfortably bear and forced to walk miles in scorching sun with insufficient water.

Which? Travel says it discovered that TUI – formerly Thomson Holidays – was selling elephant rides in Laos, near Thailand, even though its website said rides and shows were stressful for the animals and harmed their wellbeing.

Separately, TUI was also promoting a tour that included the controversial Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka until Which? investigated – when it took it down.

The Responsible Travel website stopped selling tickets for Pinnawala in 2008 after a report by the Born Free Foundation, which opposes the exploitation of captive animals, concluded the place had a poor animal welfare record. Responsible Travel says online: “The concern is that Pinnawala is advertised as an ‘orphanage’ or ‘sanctuary’… when in reality the elephants are bred and displayed as a tourist attraction.

“Some of the key points in the report include male elephants chained during ‘musth’ (an aggressive period associated with reproductive hormones) causing wounds to the elephants’ legs; the elephants are trained with the threat of pain from an ‘ankus’ (a sharp hook with a spike, used as a traditional elephant training tool); and the elephants are used as photo props to bring in tourist revenues.”

Western Black Rhino declared extinct Show all 12 1 /12 Western Black Rhino declared extinct Western Black Rhino declared extinct 113809428.jpg The International Union for Conservation of Nature says the Western Black Rhino (pictured) is extinct and two other species of rhino are "possibly" extinct. Getty Images Western Black Rhino declared extinct Southern White Rhino subspecies _Ceratotherium simum simum_Dr Richard Emslie (2).JPG The Southern White Rhino of central Africa is now "possibly extinct" in the wild and firmly placed on the Red List of Threatened Species. Western Black Rhino declared extinct Summers Poison Frog_Ranitomeya summers_Jason Brown.jpg The Blessed Poison Frog (Ranitomeya benedicta) is currently listed as Vulnerable and the Summers' Poison Frog (pictured) (Ranitomeya summersi) is Endangered. Western Black Rhino declared extinct Tarzans Chameleon_ Calumma tarzan_Jörn Köhler.jpg The current Red List reveals that an alarming 40% of Madagascar’s terrestrial reptiles are threatened. The 22 Madagascan species currently identified as Critically Endangered, which include chameleons, geckoes, skinks and snakes, are now a conservation challenge. Encouragingly, there are new conservation areas being designated in Madagascar that will help conserve a significant proportion of Critically Endangered species, such as Tarzan’s Chameleon (Calumma tarzan) (pictured), the Bizarre-nosed Chameleon (Calumma hafahafa) and the Limbless Skink (Paracontias fasika). Western Black Rhino declared extinct Paroedura masobe_Franco Andreone.jpg The Paroedura masobe gecko is classed as "endangered" by the IUCN. Western Black Rhino declared extinct Giant Manta Ray_Manta birostris_Andrea Marshall.jpg Giant Manta Ray (Manta birostris), the largest species of rays, is also on the conservation group's Red List of Threatened Species and classed as "vulnerable". Western Black Rhino declared extinct Reef Manta Ray_Manta alfredi_Andrea Marshall.JPG The Reef Manta Ray is also on the conservation group's Red List of Threatened Species. Western Black Rhino declared extinct Coco der Mer_Lodoicea maldivica_Jean-Christophe Vie (2).JPG The majority of endemic flowering plants in the granitic Seychelles islands have been assessed and current studies show that of the 79 endemic species, 77% are at risk of extinction. Most of these are new assessments but one species, the infamous Coco de Mer (Lodoicea maldivica) has been uplisted from Vulnerable to Endangered. Known for its supposed aphrodisiac properties, the Coco de Mer faces threats from fires and illegal harvesting of its kernels. Western Black Rhino declared extinct Chinese Water Fir_Glyptostrobus pensilis_Philip Thomas.jpg The Chinese Water Fir (Glyptostrobus pensilis), which was formerly widespread throughout China and Viet Nam, has been upgraded from Endangered to Critically Endangered. Western Black Rhino declared extinct Begonia seychellensis_Justin Gerlach.JPG The Begonia seychellensis is one of the many tropical plant species at risk. Western Black Rhino declared extinct The Blessed Poison Frog_Ranitomeya benedicta_Jason Brown (1).jpg The Blessed Poison Frog (Ranitomeya benedicta) is currently listed as Vulnerable. Western Black Rhino declared extinct Przewalski's Horse_ Equus ferus_Patricia D Moehlman.jpg The Przewalski's Horse (Equus ferus) is another success story, improving its status from Critically Endangered to Endangered.

And a popular travellers’ blog last month urged people never to visit Pinnawala, reporting: “I quickly became horrified at how these elephants were treated. I passed numerous elephants chained in solitary confinement… the fact they were shaking back and forth and only doing repetitive movements disturbed me. They looked like they were in deep distress.”

Elephants were chained by their legs under water, unable to move around, some even forced to lie in the water and threatened with violence if they tried to get up, according to the blog Hand Luggage Only.

However, both Expedia and TripAdvisor are still selling tickets to Pinnawala, and TripAdvisor allows reviews and photos of it. Expedia’s website even claims: “Watch local mahouts – elephant handlers – as they take care of these magnificent creatures.”

Which? also said Expedia was selling tickets to a Thailand spectacle, Phuket FantaSea, that featured tigers jumping through hoops of fire, the report said, and that tourists could also bottle-feed cubs there. “Don’t miss the chance to hold a tiger cub,” Expedia’s website still says.

Groups that have previously investigated such shows, including Animals Asia, have found evidence of animals being beaten with sticks and metal hooks and having their teeth and claws painfully removed to be taught these “tricks”. Tigers are naturally afraid of fire and will avoid it.

TripAdvisor was selling tickets to Gatorland in Orlando, which offered visitors the chance to “wrestle alligators” but removed the park after Which? challenged it.

TripAdvisor also promotes Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas, Queensland, where tourists can hold baby crocs and where at least one photograph has shown the reptiles’ jaws taped shut.

​Trailfinders said that in January it had stopped selling excursions to the Thai Elephant Care Centre, but researchers who rang the firm were still quoted availability for “an experience where elephants are tame enough for visitors to bathe and feed them”. A sister centre on the same site is the Maesa Elephant Camp, where elephants are forced to give rides, play football, throw darts and paint pictures for tourists – unnatural behaviour deemed unacceptable by Abta.

The camp’s website features photos of chains around the elephants’ necks, bullhooks in trainers’ hands and wooden seats on the animals’ backs.

Virgin Holidays set out a series of pledges in 2014 on animal and marine mammal welfare, including discouraging the building of new aquariums, but it still promotes a dolphin park in Dubai where dolphins have to drag visitors who pay to cling to their fins.

Rory Boland, the editor of Which? Travel, said: “Travel agents and holiday companies have launched grand-sounding animal welfare policies but these mostly seem to be little more than empty promises.

“Nine out of 10 companies we investigated were still selling tickets to facilities where animals are reportedly kept in poor conditions or are forced to perform for entertainment.”

The consumer group reported of TUI: “A blog post told customers that ‘you can’t go to India without getting an elephant’s eye view’ of the landscape. Another fondly recounted a show where the gentle giants played basketball and danced in traditional headdresses”.

In some cases, blog posts revealed holiday firms saw such entertainment as acceptable. Until approached by The Independent, Riviera Travel was last week still carrying a blog by an employee that described an elephant ride through the jungle. “Our mahout explained that all the elephants they use are female as ‘they are easier to handle’,” the post said.

TUI removed the Pinnawala orphanage part of the tour noted in the research and also removed the blog post encouraging elephant rides.

Mr Boland added: “Five companies took action after we presented evidence to them, but some still refused. Many people wouldn’t book with TUI if they knew the truth behind their animal welfare policy.

“It’s encouraging that companies have acted but it’s not good enough that we had to catch them first. Instead of quietly removing attractions to avoid scrutiny they should be conducting audits, like Thomas Cook and Audley Travel have, and be proactive in removing attractions where animals are kept in poor conditions, or forced to perform for entertainment.”

Thomas Cook earlier this year stopped selling tickets to 17 attractions that failed to meet a set of strict animal welfare standards.

Last month TripAdvisor stopped promoting certain places “where captive wild or endangered animals are forced to perform demeaning tricks or other unnatural behaviour in front of the public, or where they are featured as part of a live circus or stage entertainment act in a demeaning manner”. However, it continues to sell tickets to places where tourists can feed animals, and World Animal Protection said the new policy fell “well short” of what was needed.

“TripAdvisor needs to end the sales to all cruel wildlife entertainment attractions including to well known places like Sea World and Loro Parque,” said a spokesman for the charity, which runs the Wildlife Not Entertainers campaign.

“TripAdvisor has the potential to make a huge difference to the lives of wild animals by only promoting wildlife-friendly alternatives, like watching whales and dolphins responsibly in the wild.”

A TUI spokeswoman said: “We take this matter really seriously. We acted on the Which? report findings and are in the process of ensuring that any old content is removed from our website. In light of this this we’re reviewing our internal content and website refresh procedures.

“We were the first tourism company to begin the process of auditing suppliers of animal excursions after collaborating with ABTA to launch the Global Welfare Guidance for Animals in Tourism in 2013 and we expect all the attractions we deal with to meet these standards. We do not offer elephant riding excursions on tours operated by, or on behalf of, TUI and only work with partners who adhere to ABTA’s guidelines and regularly monitor to ensure that they are.”

Expedia promised to take down certain activities involving elephants and tigers, telling The Independent: “Our priority is to help travellers avoid situations where the welfare of animals is negatively affected. After consultation with a range of global industry-leading wildlife and animal protection groups, we have determined that certain attractions do not meet this standard.

“For example, the jungle trekking and elephant ride half-day tour and Sriracha Tiger Zoo half-day tour will be removed. For other activities that involve animal interaction but will remain on our sites, we want to educate travellers and allow them to make an informed choice whether or not to participate.”

Expedia also said it had set up a wildlife tourism education portal.

Riviera Travel removed the blog referring to the elephant trek, in response to enquiries by The Independent. Hercules Zeris, head of worldwide at the company, said: “Riviera Travel does not encourage its clients to take elephant safaris in Chitwan National Park and we arrange for four-by-four vehicles to be used instead. We have also removed any mention of this option from our website and do not promote this or any similar activities.”

Trailfinders said that as soon as it found out that the owner of the Thai Elephant Care Centre was also profiting from cruel practices at its sister site, it withdrew tickets from sale immediately.

A spokeswoman for Virgin said: “The way tourists interact with captive whales and dolphins needs to change and we’ve launched several initiatives to evolve industry standards and shift consumer preference to more natural encounters. This includes a commitment not to add any new hotels or attractions that feature captive whales and dolphins and a significant investment in a groundbreaking initiative that will attempt to relocate captive dolphins to a coastal sanctuary for the first time.”