Often animal and wildlife tourist attractions are disguised as natural, helpful, or worse - as conservation, when in reality they're just masked exploitation and mistreatment, and even animal-loving tourists may not be aware of the underlying misery involved, and unknowingly pay for and support cruel practices. Simply put - if humans are involved and there's a profit to be made, it's bad news for animals.

what's wrong with animal tourism?

If you're interacting with wild animals in anywhere other than the actual wild or a reputable sanctuary or rescue, then the sad truth is that animal abuse is likely involved because the animals there have been captured, separated from their families, held captive against their will, forced to perform unnatural activities, and given the minimum amount of care to keep them alive. And — all too often — not even that.