Brutal consequences can hide behind some of the most popular vacation activities, and we might not even be aware of them. Cuddly koalas, playful monkeys, graceful snakes, or friendly dolphins can provide a new experience for us, but the animals themselves actually suffer a lot from these things. A lack of space, a poor diet, chains, and exhaustion — this is only a tiny list of things that happen to them behind the scenes.
Bright Side invites you to see the real side of some of the most popular tourist activities, that millions of tourists support annually. After reading this you may want to reconsider your views!
1. Watching performing dolphins
Dolphinariums can seem like a fun and rather innocent attraction, but most of us are unaware of the cruel things that happen to put on this performance. To get dolphins to a dolphinarium, they are being chased in the wild and captured in nets. While being transported, the animals experience a lot of stress and a lot of them die before even making it there. Those who do manage to survive spend their lifetime in small swimming pools learning tricks, which is completely unnatural for them.
The situation gets even worse in different travelling dolphin shows. In between performances, dolphins are being packed up and shipped to the next location like a luggage! They have to fit in a tiny space with a horrible lack of water.
2. Riding elephants
When taking a ride on an elephant, we might be amazed by how calm and slow this animal is. The sad truth behind this is that its spirit is broken. Baby elephants are taken from their mothers and forced through a violent training, with painful physical restraints and limited food and water. Animals are kept in chains for their whole lives and are not allowed to interact with other elephants. All of this completely breaks their psychological and physical well-being.
3. Bear parks
In the wild, bears prefer living alone. In bear parks they are kept in "pits" and sterile cages. There are usually more than 3 bears in one space, which makes it way too overcrowded. Moreover, their torture doesn't stop there. In some parks they are made to dress in different costumes and perform tricks for the visitors. This forces the animals to endure enormous amounts of stress.
4. Dancing monkeys
In popular tourist destinations like Thailand, captured macaques have to go through a lot of unpleasant things. They are trained to perform tricks and dance for the crowd. It might seem fun for us, but the animal isn't having any fun at that moment. When the performance is over, the macaques are chained and kept in small cages.
5. Snake charming
This ancient entertainment attracts a lot of people from different age groups. Admittedly, watching these dangerous animals is somehow bewitching. In reality, these cobras are being taken from the wild and getting their fangs removed. Then their venom ducts are also getting blocked, to make the animal harmless. This often leads to various infections and ends up killing them.
6. Touring civet coffee plantations
One cup of civet coffee (Kopi Luwak) can cost from $35 to $100. Civets enjoy eating coffee cherries and this exotic sort of coffee is made from the beans inside the cherries that the civets excrete. As farmers try to produce more coffee, they catch civets and keep a lot of them in small cages. This awful action leads to injuries and diseases among the captured animals, and puts a lot of stress on them. Moreover, they are made to eat large amounts of coffee cherries, which is unhealthy for them.
In countries like Indonesia tourists can visit places where civets are captured and are offered a chance to try the coffee.
7. Bullfighting
This barbaric tradition leads to the death of thousands of bulls every year. Before the fight, bullfighters use various methods to weaken the animal and to make sure they will win. They can drug them, drop sandbags on their backs, remove their horns to put them off balance, or even rub petroleum jelly onto their eyes to make their vision worse. During the actual fight, the bulls are getting stabbed in their backs and necks, and exhausted in every way. Usually, bulls leave the arena paralyzed.
8. Fish pedicure
Garra rufa fish are usually used for this procedure. They eat dead skin, not because they really like it, but because they are starved and have to eat it for sustenance. Even though, in some countries, these fishes are being legally protected, people can still buy them online and they will be delivered by mail in plastic bags with water. Many of them die during this shipping process.
9. Cuddling with koalas
No doubt, koalas are very sweet, and everyone might want to give them a big cuddle. But in reality, koalas don't enjoy contact with humans. It is too stressful, noisy, and fast for them. Yet they are forced to do so just for an attraction that causes a lot of stress and trauma.
10. Horse-drawn carriage rides
So many couples love to get romantic horse-drawn carriage rides during their vacation. From the horse's perspective, there is nothing sweet about this experience. The animal is being strapped in a harness and made to walk for many hours, in any weather conditions, along noisy streets. It stresses them out so much that they sometimes collapse.
What of these things have you done? Do you know of any more attractions that need to be banned? Let's discuss them in the comment section!
Done - Grey
