At a dilapidated aquarium in Miami, Florida, a dolphin with acute trauma was found dead at the bottom of a tank. At a historical fort in Jaipur, India, an elephant was beaten repeatedly with bullhooks before being forced to give rides to tourists. At a self-proclaimed “conservation facility” in the Cayman Islands, a turtle was killed after a visitor dropped her, cracking her shell. These tragedies each link back to one company, GetYourGuide (GYG),which sells tickets to each of these venues— and many like them— every day.
The new report profiles some of the worst animal tourism operators partnered with GetYourGuide, where captive animals endure abusive training, are provided inadequate food and water, and are forced into frightening interactions with people. These include Dolphin Discovery (Mexico, Caribbean, and the U.S.), Miami Seaquarium (U.S.), Amer Fort (India), self-proclaimed elephant sanctuaries in Thailand, Daniel Johnson’s Monkey and Sloth Hangout(Honduras), Gatorland (U.S.), Cayman Turtle Center (Cayman Islands), and Bali Safari Marine Park (Indonesia).
“When it comes to animals, GetYourGuide prioritizes profit over anything else. GetYourGuide’s executives are indifferent to the 550,000 animals suffering in concrete tanks and decrepit cages for tourist entertainment,” said Liz Cabrera Holtz, Senior Campaigns Manager of World Animal Protection, U.S. “That’s why we’re warning travelers to avoid GetYourGuide until the company adopts a public animal welfare policy. When you book with GetYourGuide, you run the risk of supporting severe animal cruelty.”
Wild animals used by the tourism industry are either forcibly taken from their natural habitats or bred into captivity, often separated from their families at an early age. The animals suffer immensely from the moment they are born or captured, and then throughout their entire lives. They all experience harm, stress, and discomfort at venues that fail to meet even the animals’ most basic needs.
World Animal Protection has repeatedly attempted to engage with GetYourGuide to inform the company about the suffering and abuse it is profiting from. However, GetYourGuide has rejected all efforts, despite World Animal Protection putting the issue front and center with a recent demonstration outside the company’s headquarters in Berlin.
Major tourism companies such as Airbnb, Expedia, and Booking.com have all stopped selling tickets to captive wildlife entertainment venues and created animal welfare policies that are mandatory for all of its hosts, but GetYourGuide remains an outlier.
World Animal Protection has the expertise and tools to help travel companies ensure all experiences they offer respect both wild animals and the people whose livelihoods depend on them.
The animal welfare organization is hoping that this new report will finally move GetYourGuide to own up to the harm it is causing and profiting from, and work with the organization to develop a public animal welfare policy of its own. Until such a date, World Animal Protection will continue to warn consumers to avoid using the company for any bookings.
