Our animal welfare standards

Why animal welfare matters

Picture the scene. You’ve just had an amazing time bottle-feeding an orphaned lion cub, touching the trunk of a towering elephant or playing with a cheetah. Your photos are receiving hundreds of likes on social media and you feel like you’ve made a real difference. 

Then you discover something that stops you in your tracks: the lion cub wasn't an orphan, it was purposely bred for tourists to bottle-feed and pose with. The elephant wasn't there by choice, it endured brutal training to make it submissive. And the cheetah can never be released into the wild, forever dependent on humans. In a heartbeat, all that excitement you felt fades, replaced by guilt and a single question: why didn't I know this before?

While our travellers never have this experience, sadly it is the reality for many visitors to Africa every year. What’s even worse is most people who participate in these kind of activities never discover the dark truth behind them - which means this exploitation of wildlife continues year after year.

How to avoid unethical treatment of captive animals

Stopping this problem starts by understanding which practices are unethical - so more people can make informed choices. 

Animal welfare professionals have done amazing work in this area, creating clear guidelines for travellers and tourist organisations to follow. As an organisation that prioritises animal welfare, we use the two gold standards:

• SATSA Captive Wildlife Guide. These guidelines have been developed by a group of experts with substantial experience in tourism, animal welfare and sustainability. The contributors bring unique perspectives and expertise, including advanced animal sciences degrees and relevant experience in areas such as the reintegration of captive animals into the wild and the positive impact of conservation travel. The guide is based on extensive research and consultations with international experts, ensuring it addresses the ethical complexities of captive wildlife tourism in Southern Africa.
• ABTA Animal Welfare Guidelies. This guide has been developed in consultation with a broad range of experts across NGOs, academia and industry, including animal welfare experts. They consolidate an abundance of existing guidance and animal welfare science. As the only conservation travel company with ABTA membership, we also helped shape these guidelines. 

Knowledge is power - but only if you use it

Unethical wildlife attractions and animal engagement will only stop when international visitors stop supporting it. Here’s how to make informed choices and make a difference to the lives of animals everywhere:

1. Get informed. Read the latest SATSA and ABTA animal welfare guidelines. 
2. Ask one easy question. “Which animal welfare guidelines do you follow?” Any company selling wildlife centre experiences should be able to quickly and easily give you the answer. If they can’t, it’s likely they don’t meet the required standards. 
3. Ask a few more questions. The SATSA Decision Tree is an amazing tool to help you make informed choices. It explains which questions to ask before booking a program or activity involving captive wildlife and what answers you should expect to hear in return. 
4. Be prepared to walk away. If a company can’t give you the assurances you want, don’t book. When the money stops, the unacceptable practices stop. 
5. Travel with us. If you want your experience to be as positive for animals as it is for you, you’re in the right place. Every wildlife centre we partner with follows SATSA and ABTA guidelines (and in most cases surpasses them). What’s more, we work with and regularly visit our partners to ensure we’re always at the forefront of ethical practices.