Protecting animals in tourism

Petition for mandatory standards regulating working conditions, living conditions, medical care and lifelong care for animals used in tourism

Holidays should not be built on animal suffering.

A horse standing beside the pyramids. A camel carrying yet another group of tourists across the desert. An elephant ferrying visitors through the jungle. A donkey waiting for hours beside a landmark for the next rider.

In the photos, everything looks beautiful.

We see an exotic place, smiling people and an animal presented as part of the local scenery. What we do not see are the long working hours in extreme heat. Wounds hidden under saddles and harnesses. Thirst, exhaustion, pain and no rest. We do not see animals forced to keep working despite illness or injury.

Nor do we know what happens afterwards.

What happens when an animal becomes too old, weak or sick to keep generating income? Who provides veterinary care? Who takes responsibility after years of labour? Who guarantees the animal a safe shelter when tourists no longer need it?

Too often, the answer is no one.

This petition concerns animals currently used in tourism without adequate protection, clear standards or effective oversight. We call for enforceable rules guaranteeing humane husbandry conditions, veterinary care, rest, safety and lifelong responsibility for every animal used in the tourism industry.

We are not trying to settle, in a single sentence, the future of every form of animal-based tourism. But no activity that involves animal suffering, overwork, untreated injuries or complete physical exhaustion should be allowed. Where adequate animal welfare cannot be guaranteed, the practice should not be permitted.

If animals work in tourism and generate income for people, the law must guarantee them humane working conditions, proper care, medical treatment, rest and lifelong protection.

An animal is not a means of transport, a decoration or an item in a holiday package.

It is a living, sentient being. It feels pain, fatigue, thirst, fear and stress. It needs water, shade, proper food, rest, contact with members of its own species and living conditions suited to its biological needs.

If people benefit from animals’ labour, they must also take responsibility for their health and their future.

• A horse must not be forced to work for twelve hours or more simply because another group of tourists is waiting.
• A camel must not be forced to keep walking despite wounds, lameness or dehydration.
• An elephant should not spend a lifetime in chains, carrying people or performing for visitors.
• A donkey must not be abandoned or sold when old age means it no longer turns a profit.

Animals used in tourism work for people. Their health, safety and future cannot depend solely on an owner’s goodwill.

We need clear, mandatory and enforceable standards.

We call on the European Commission, relevant international tourism institutions and the governments of countries where animals are used in tourism to establish shared standards for their protection.

We demand:

• A maximum working time for animals.
  Rules must set permitted working hours, mandatory breaks, days off and recovery periods, taking into account the animal’s species, age, physical condition, ambient temperature and the type of work performed.
• A ban on working conditions that endanger health.
  Animals must not be forced to work in extreme heat or without access to shade, water and adequate rest.
• Constant access to clean water and appropriate food.
  No animal should work for many hours without being able to drink, eat and rest.
• Mandatory and regular veterinary care.
  Animals must undergo check-ups and their condition must be documented. Any animal that is sick, injured, lame, exhausted or unfit for work must be withdrawn from service immediately and treated.
• Living conditions appropriate to the species.
  Housing must provide enough space, freedom of movement, proper rest, protection from the weather, hygiene and social contact suited to the species.
• Rules on equipment and permitted loads.
  Saddles, harnesses, ropes and other gear must not cause wounds or pain. Weight limits for passengers and loads must be set according to the animal’s species, age and physical condition.
• A ban on violence and fear-based training methods.
  Beating, electric shocks, starvation, painful restraint, harmful tools and other cruel practices must be clearly prohibited and punished.
• Registration of animals and tourism operators.
  Every animal must have identification documents and health records. Owners, attraction operators and businesses that use animals in tourism must be subject to regular, independent inspections.
• Mandatory care after an animal’s working career ends.
  An animal that has worked for people for years must not be abandoned, sold for slaughter or left without medical care when it stops generating income. A system must guarantee lifelong care, treatment and a safe retirement.
• Effective penalties for violations.
  Standards must not exist only on paper. Authorities must be able to inspect premises, seize animals, suspend operations and impose real penalties for neglect, overwork, lack of medical care and violence.
• Responsibility of travel agencies and tourism platforms.
  Travel agencies, tour operators, hotels, airlines, booking platforms and advertisers should promote only attractions that meet established animal-protection standards.
• Honest information for travellers.
  People booking trips should be told about the conditions at an attraction, which standards it meets, and whether the welfare of the animals used there is monitored by an independent body.

Tourism advertising has enormous power.

An image of a horse, a camel or an elephant can persuade thousands of people to buy a particular attraction. That is why the industry’s responsibility does not end when a ticket is sold.

A company that promotes an animal-related attraction should know the conditions in which those animals live and work. It cannot profit from the attraction while cutting itself off from the suffering that makes the experience possible.

We do not want to take away people’s livelihoods or harm local communities that depend on tourism. We want a system in which income is not generated at the cost of animals’ health and lives. A system that helps responsible owners improve conditions, supports ethical businesses and removes from the market those who profit from violence and neglect.

Tourism can look different.

It can respect local cultures, communities and animals.
It can generate income without denying living beings the right to rest, proper care and a life free from unnecessary suffering.

For a tourist it may be one ride.
One photo.
One holiday memory.

For the animal it is often another day in a lifetime of work.
And when the holiday ends, the animal remains.

With the same pack.
The same burden.
The same pain.
And a future that depends on whether someone still considers its life worth something.

An animal that has worked for people for years must not lose everything the moment it stops generating income.

Sign this petition.

Help us create real standards for the protection of animals used in tourism.

We are not asking for the impossible.
We are asking for water, rest, medical care, safety, species-appropriate living conditions and responsibility for the animal until the end of its life.

Because a beautiful journey should never leave suffering behind.