Eco Holidays

posted by Catherine on Feb 7

Last time you went on holiday – did you inadvertently encourage animal ‘tourist attractions’?

Sometimes it’s a fine line between having the opportunity of seeing a rare or unusual animal and having that animal abused or used in some way that isn’t natural or has caused the death or injury of others of the same kind.

You probably think that it is easy to tell the difference – but not always.

Take for example the dolphins used in ‘friendly dolphin events’ across Mexico and many other countries.  Yes, they are in a nice beach-side enclosure, seem ‘happy’ enough to swim around you and are fed by the keepers – but were they wild caught?  And separated from their family pod?

What about ‘pets’ in hotels and lodges around the world?  Yes we have parrots and lizards as pets back home, but were theirs taken from the wild at the cost of the parents – or the habitat itself!

The Obvious Ones:
However, sometimes it’s all too obvious that an animal is suffering.

A monkey chained to a tree, a bear made to dance or small donkeys made to carry tourists around a historic site!

These are the ones that need to be dealt with – but the frightening part is that these cruel acts are only to be found because they are making someone a lot of money.  And that means that there are tourists across the globe that are paying local people to show them or photograph them with (maltreated) exotic animals.

Think about it – if a local man traps a young bear and spends months training it to dance to music but no-one gave him a single penny for his troubles – I doubt if he would bother to do it again.

And if every tourist visiting that historic site told the man with the donkey that they would not pay to ride one of his donkeys as they could only really carry the weight of a child – do you think he is going to keep buying more donkeys and standing around in the street for days on end for nothing!

What Can You Do:
There are plenty of organisations out there who are striving to protect these animals and to try to stop their abuse and you could help them to achieve their goals.

The International Primate Protection League would like to help stop abuse of monkeys and apes with their campaigning and the rescue of mistreated animals.  They can send you a small form that you can complete if you ever see monkeys or apes being abused, containing details on location, time, date and possibly with photographic evidence to help them identify the species and the abuse.

You can of course just donate to their efforts without ever seeing an abused animal – and your donation will help make sure that you never do!

Donkeys have got someone fighting their side too with The Brooke amongst others, that are trying to make sure that donkeys, asses and mules used to help people make a living are kept in god health and looked after.

Because equines help to earn a living for their owner – they are sometimes put though a hard time or made to work through injuries just to earn more money.  So, to make sure that these animals are still helping their owners without getting hurt or abused, charities like the Brooke give advice and support to their owners to help them make better use of their resources (and less stress for the donkey!).

It’s not just these species that are used, I have seen baby anteaters, baby elephants, tiger cubs and even sloths that have been waved infront of tourists to try to make some money.

Have you paid to see one of them?

posted by Catherine on Apr 9

Would You Buy A Tiger Cub?

The trade in live animals and animal parts is one of the most active in the world – and only people like you can stop it by refusing to buy any animal parts or any live animals – and by reporting anything you see that is suspicious to the WWF

Live Animals:
Even if it is legal to import live animals into your home country – why would you do so?

They will no doubt be live caught (with parents and siblings often killed to collect them) and will have been badly handled and possibly smuggled in tiny spaces to you or your seller. The rates of survival on these journeys are very low, so for every animal that arrives, huge numbers could have died along the way.

As the animal is not endemic to your country, it may well need imported foods or specific diets and nutrients that you may be unaware of, equipment to maintain the correct humidity and temperature (which you might not even know yourself) and no doubt any illness or disease it has already got or may pick up from your end may not be treatable by a local vet as they have no experience or the veterinary equipment and medications to treat it.

And most obviously, if you brought one, then someone else might want one therefore creating or increasing the numbers caught and traded. You are perpetuating the cycle of death and destruction of species and habitat.

Stuffed Animals:
For the same reason – be wary of buying stuffed animals that are endangered species.

We all know that the rarer something becomes – the more it is worth, so by buying even a really old stuffed animal that has since become endangered you are letting that vendor know that there is a demand for whatever it was. It may well encourage him to find someone to supply him with another one……

Traditional Medicines:
There is no scientific proof that traditional medicines are effective against disease or can increase your fertility. It’s like your bank manager telling you how to make loads of money with shares and investments – when if he knew how to make loads of money – why is he still working in a bank rather than in a big mansion on a desert island?

However, most traditional medicines are made with animal parts – and many of these animals – like tigers – are endangered. There is no need for you to try any of these treatments as you are very likely encouraging illegal poaching and trapping.

And as with most ‘natural’ remedies that sound to good to be true – they probably are. Surely if there really was a part of an animal that really did prevent disease almost 100% of the time – do you not think that medicine would be available worldwide rather than in some tiny backstreet store outside of town??

Any Unidentified Animal Parts:
If you really want to do everything you can to avoid encouraging illegal wildlife poaching, then avoid buying anything made of or by any animal.

Just as the sale of leather from cows is a by-product of the beef and dairy industry, so the sale of teeth, bones and fur, feathers and quills can be the by-products of other trades.

It is a minefield out there, so you need to be quite broad with your shopping choices no matter how pretty or ‘amazing’ that souvenir is – because it would look a lot better if it was still alive!

And remember no matter how bad the trade is – if you buy it – they will make more. Just look at McDonalds!!!

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posted by Catherine on Apr 1

Should you buy anything ‘animal’ when on holiday?

As with all retail, there is a certain aspect of personal choice, but if you want to make sure that your holiday souvenirs don’t end up destroying local habitats or result in the deaths of endangered species – then you need to shop a lot more carefully!

It’s no good saying that you won’t buy anything that says it is an endangered species – because lets be honest, 1) would anyone really boast about it being illegal, or 2) could you tell if that bone was from a threatened rhino or a pet goat anyway?

Why Not Just One……
And as with all products of any type – it will only be made again if people are buying it.

If a bar of chocolate was made that tasted awful and didn’t sell – you can almost guarantee that no-one will be making anymore of it – ever. And it is the same with any product: if it doesn’t sell – they won’t make any more.

So, there is no good argument anymore for saying ‘well the elephant is already dead, so I may as well buy it rather than let it go to waste’ – because if a business owner just managed to sell a whole shop load of elephant ivory – he will think he can sell another one – so bang: there goes another dead elephant!

Shop owners can also lie about the origin of their items making you believe that the endangered monkey species is just the flesh of a common species or a local pest, or that the exquisite jewelry is from a sustainable source not a threatened species of turtle who’s numbers are dwindling!

The Main Culprits:
There are 12 headings below and in further articles – containing the generally agreed items that you should avoid buying abroad, and they include:

Ebony & Other Hardwoods:
No matter how beautiful that wood-carving is – it could be from a protected species. Not only will the seller have to go out and chop down another tree to replace your purchase, it is also possible that your ‘gift’ wil be confiscated on return to your home country as well. A wasted effort all round!

And it’s not just the trees that suffer. By felling woodlands in any area, you could be affecting all the wildlife and local communties that rely on it. Degradation of the area can also lead to gradual habitat loss as the soil is eroded or exposed – permanently affecting the whole area.

Ivory:
Anything made of ivory has virtually always come from a protected animal – usually just killed for that one reason. Although there are large amounts of ‘legal’ ivory available, you will almost certainly be offered the illegal kind as a tourist. And why even buy it when you know that 1) it is from a endangered species, and 2) that you could be causing a continuation of the illegal trade as a result of your consumer demand.

Reptile Skins:
These are very hard to distinguish from each other and so you need to not buy any to be sure. Why would the seller travel miles to kill a common lizard to make into a belt, when the endangered species he lives next door to looks exactly the same once it has been treated?

He wouldn’t, so don’t trust his sources or labelling. Between 2000 and 2004 in the UK over 800 illegal wildlife items were caught entering the country – most were from crocodiles and alligators. There are currently 37 species of threatened or endangered reptiles just in the US alone – so even in developed countries there are risks!

Big Cat Skins:
Need I explain this one?

Yes they look fantastic – and that’s why we love wildlife – but please leave the skin on the animal rather than on your floor or worse still – in a storage box as you changed your mind about the decor!

Come back for Part 2 – For objects that should be in the oceans not in your jewelry box!

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