Behind the photos of our holidays lies the harsh reality of the suffering of animals exploited by the tourism industry.
Ride the elephants, swim with the dolphins, see the zebra at the zoo. Behind the photos of our holidays, lies the harsh reality of suffering of animals exploited by the tourism industry.
Index
Riding the elephants
I have to admit, before arriving in Thailand I had a distorted view of reality. In Ko Chang (elephant island), I expected to find a perfect marriage between human being and pachyderm. Those visions where you stop, to let the elephant family that lives that part of the island not invaded by mass tourism. Already after a few hours, I realized that that image was only in my mind and that, if I wanted to see elephants, I would have to participate in a tour where for a few pennies, you could ride them and bathe in the river in their company.
From a distance, I peeked inside one of their enclosures to see how they were treated. I was there at night, as the monsoons bathed their wounded skin. Chained to one foot, deprived of any freedom, malnourished and 'parked' in line as if they were buses. Animals sedated to be more friendly to tourists, forced to walk for hours, every day, together with their puppies. Goad yourself with hooks if they dared to rebel or if they refused to enter the water. Yet in seven days, I have seen animals 'work' tirelessly in an increasingly thriving horror market, in which there is no mercy or compassion whatsoever.
You will never want to ride an elephant in Thailand again after seeing these pictures
Selfie with lions and tigers
But elephants aren't the only victims of tourism. At the zoo, lions and tigers they are stripped of their claws to allow visitors to take selfies. We had told you about the young lioness in an Egyptian zoo who had been distorted and tamed by frustrations in order to play with children. And together with her, many other wild animals sedated to become tourist toys.
This zoo has amputated the claws of a lioness to play with children
Swim with the dolphins
And what about dolphins? These beautiful animals are pulled out of their teeth to prevent them from hurting the tourists who swim with them. And so, while visitors are enjoying themselves, wild animals raised in captivity continue to be tortured. Dolphins that are kept in tiny cages, often chained and at the disposal of visitors who can take pictures and caress them.
Removing the teeth of dolphins to let tourists swim with them: the horror that no one wants to tell you
Barrels with horses
And what about the barrels? In Rome they return to the Colosseum, the historic starting point to attract tourists and take them around the Eternal City pulled by steeds. In the midst of traffic and smog, whether it's cold or hot. The war between those who would like to abolish them, those who promised to do so and those who manage them, making money on horses, goes on with the sentences of the Tar. But in the meantime, the horses stay there.
Other than abolition, the barrels and horses return to the Colosseum
Donkeys used as taxis
In Santorini, donkeys are forced to climb 520 steep steps carrying an enormous burden, that of tourists who do not want to walk the path that goes from the port to the town of Fira. A petition was launched last year to ban the exploitation of these beautiful animals, but to date the sad practice has not been abolished.
Santorini, towards a ban on the exploitation of donkeys used as taxis?
Then there are all those marine animals that, especially in this summer period, are pulled out of the water and put in the bucket and many others approached the coast just to take a selfie. Let us remember that we are talking about living beings and not inanimate objects that have as much right as we do, to be left in peace and not disturbed.
They drag a shark out of the water and make it die for a selfie
Read also:
- Swimming with Dolphins: The Disturbing Truth Tourists Don't Know (PHOTO)
- That dolphin that would have died for a selfie: what (not) a responsible tourist should do
