#stopanimalselfies: the campaign of Costa Rica to prevent and selfie with wild animals

#stopanimalselfies is the Costa Rican countryside that wants to prevent selfies with wild animals by sensitizing tourists.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

It's called #stopanimalselfies and it's a campaign launched by the Government of Costa Rica, in collaboration with various tourism companies, to I will prevent my selfie with the wild animals. The reason? Protect wildlife from irresponsible tourism.

The campaign intends to raise awareness among tourists by encouraging them to respect animals, thus avoiding negative impacts on the species living in the country.

And to do so he invites them to take selfies with fake rather than real animals, accompanying them with l’hashtag #stopanimalselfies and the caption “Don't treat wild animals for a selfie”.

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Apart from the ethical aspect of the matter, wild animals are often not used to human presence and therefore can be frightened, not to mention the disease risk due to the interaction between species. This is why Costa Rica is particularly interested in this initiative and recommends adopting some behaviors, avoiding others:

stay at a safe distance from animals;
observe them in silence and with respect;
respect the natural behaviors of animals;
avoid entering cages or enclosures;
do not touch, grab or hug them;
do not offer food;
do not try to catch or chase them to have direct contact;
do not make noises, do not whistle, throw objects or knock on the barriers to make them move or wake up.

As is well known, Costa Rica is a country that has made great strides forward from an environmental point of view and is particularly attentive to the promotion ofecotourism, it is no coincidence that it was awarded the title of United Nations Earth Champion in 2019, the organization's highest environmental award.

It also hosts over 5% of the world's biodiversity and is one of the most biologically rich countries on the planet. Let's take an example and join this important campaign, whose message is universal!