The untimely arrival of COVID-19 has meant that many of us have been restricted from any overseas travel for an unfortunate amount of time. However, with the relaxation of many international borders soon and a desperate need for economic stimulus from tourism, a number of captivating holiday deals have begun to emerge.

Many tourists come to Asian countries to experience unique and diverse cultures, the smorgasbord of culinary delights as well as natural wonders including a diverse range of wildlife. Wildlife tourism in Asia is not new. But with the introduction of social media and the endless pursuit for popularity and recognition, tourist encounters with exotic animals have now been driven to unprecedented levels. Wildlife tourism essentially caters to people’s love of animals but often seeks to maximize profits by exploiting animals from birth to death. As a result of this demand, the wildlife that once was only seen in books or photos, have now been made accessible to tourists, so that they are able to “share” their experience with their audience. Tourists may feel a sense of wonder and excitement being so close to these animals, without actually understanding the pain, torture and dangers they place themselves in each and every day for the satisfaction of a good tourist souvenir.

We have highlight a few of the more common wild animal attractions that one may encounter in Asia, often masquerading behind the façade of “tourism”, with the suffering and cruelty inflicted on the animals carefully hidden from view.  

Elephants

World Animal Protection, an animal rights NGO, has found that thousands of elephants that are being used for entertainment across Asia are kept in cruel and abusive conditions, which continued to be fueled by the growing tourism industry. It is estimated three out of four elephants surveyed in the ASEAN region are living in harsh conditions, where they are used for rides with wooden or steel saddles, and tied in short and restrictive chains.

The Asian elephant is classified as an endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They also feature on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) list of endangered species. The Asian elephant population has declined by over 50 per cent over the past 75 years. The majority of elephants have sadly been taken from the wild and it is estimated that only 20,000 – 40,000 remain in the wild.

According to World Animal Protection, which assessed almost 3,000 elephants living in 220 venues across ASEAN, the scale of suffering experienced by elephants was described as “severe”. Similarly, they found at least 77% of captive elephants were chained up throughout the day and night when not being exploited for entertainment purposes and experienced very little to no social interaction with other elephants. The Elephants were fed poor nutritional diets, have extremely limited access to proper veterinary care and are constantly harassed by not only their keepers, but the loud music and the heavy flow of tourists on a daily basis.

In the wild, Asian elephants typically live in small herds of related females, their female offspring and immature males. Asian elephants are extremely social and form complex relationships, working together to raise their young and to protect the group. But in captivity, these elephants are at the mercy of their human trainers and as such, have much shorter lives, more physical and medical problems as well as exhibit serious behavioural issues.

All captive elephants are tamed for domestication by what is known as “Phajaan” or “training crush”, which involves placing a young elephant calf in a strong steel cage, tied with ropes to restrict movement, married with negative reinforcement in the form of corporal punishment by bullhooks and bamboo sticks spiked with nails. They are starved and deprived of sleep in order to crush the elephant’s spirit into submission and into obeying human commands to avoid pain.

Elephant tourism rears its ugly head in many different ways, which include elephant trekking as a popular and sought after holiday experience. Tourists are sat upon the world’s largest land based mammals as they are forced to trek along a path through a jungle while their trainers control and steer them with forcible pressure applied behind their ears by a bullhook. At the conclusion of the trip, tourists are able to pay for photos on and with the elephant. Despite the mammoth size of these animals, research has shown that elephants’ spines cannot physically support the weight of people and doing so on a daily basis can lead to permanent spinal injuries and deformities. Instead of smooth, round spinal disks, elephants have sharp bony protrusions that extend upwards from their spine. These protrusions and the tissue protecting them are vulnerable to weight and pressure coming from above. Further medical complications from having a chair attached to their backs include large lesions that become infected, and the wear and tear on the elephant’s feet after long-term trekking can cause foot infection and injuries.

Thankfully, there are a small but growing number of organisations and venues where elephants are kept in more humane conditions. These are often called “sanctuaries” or “rescue centres”. Many of these sanctuaries have been set up to rescue elephants from wildlife tourism and trade. In order to secure their freedom, the rescue centres pay no less than HKD$500,000 per elephant. The price tag vary from elephant to elephant, and take into account age, health and tame-ability. For those operating elephant tourism, the loss of an elephant is a considerable part of their livelihood, and are unfortunately able to command an extraordinarily high price to secure he freedom of these animals.

At these elephant friendly sanctuaries, there is no use of tools or physical controls, and elephants have learnt positive behaviour without the use of force. This is because in higher welfare venues, tourists are not in direct contact with the animals. Rather, they are ushered carefully on small trainer-led groups, to watch elephants in their natural environment. Tourists are able to quietly approach elephants from a safe distance and watch them live naturally under the watchful eye of their caregivers.

An elephant can only be truly free in the wild. However, as there are so many captive elephants in and around Asia forced to work in not only the callous wildlife tourism industry but also logging and other physical laborious tasks, creating awareness of and supporting these elephant-friendly sanctuaries will hopefully mean more elephants are able to live their lives free from torture.

 

Tigers

Tiger entertainment venues are increasing in popularity and has recently been cast into the viral spotlight by Netflix’s “Tiger King”. Tigers are the largest members of the cat family. Of the original nine subspecies of tiger, three have become extinct in the last 80 years. The six remaining subspecies of tigers are the Indo-Chinese, Bengal, Amur (Siberian), Sumatran, South China and Malayan. The Bengal tiger accounts for the majority of today’s existing tiger population. Four of the remaining subspecies are considered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), while two of the subspecies are considered “critically” endangered. It is predicted that all tigers may become extinct in the wild within the next decade.

After a century of decline, overall wild tiger numbers have actually started to move in an upward trend. Tiger populations are stable or increasing in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Russia and China, with an estimated 3,000 – 3,600 tigers remaining in the wild. However, latest figures estimate that there are still as many as 8,000 held in captive facilities across Asia. Some of these are licensed by national governments and are open to the public, marketed as zoos, conservation centres and of course, tourism entertainment venues. 

Many tiger tourism venues claim their profits support tiger conservation, but in truth, this is rarely the case. The vast majority operate purely for commercial profit and actually threaten the survival of wild tigers by stimulating demand for tigers and tiger body parts in captivity.

Tiger cubs are often separated from their mothers just two to three weeks after birth. In the wild, although tiger cubs are weaned from their mothers by six months of age, it is only when they are 18 months of age that they are actually equipped to hunt for themselves. Prior to that age, they are still very much dependent on the prey their mother procures for them. Hundreds of times a day, these young tiger cubs are mishandled by tourists which unfortunately lead to stress and injury. Like the elephants, tigers are conditioned by using pain and fear to stop aggressive and unwanted behaviour. 

Tigers are generally solitary creatures and in the wild, with individual tigers having a 5 – 60 mile territory to roam. In captivity, most tigers are housed in small concrete cages or barren enclosures with limited access to fresh water. Often the cages housing these felines are less than 20 square metres per animal, and adult tigers are chained to concrete platforms for lengthy periods at a time.

As with any animal, placement in unfamiliar and hostile surroundings further exacerbates stresses, which tends to manifest in tigers as negative outward behaviour. Tigers have been seen to be pacing repetitively, biting their tails and losing their fur. These are obvious outward signs of zoochosis, which only cause further and unnecessary harm to the tigers. Captive tigers are constant victims of irresponsible wildlife tourism. Their suffering is only aggravated when made to come in contact with tourists, forced to perform or pressured to pose for tourists seeking that perfect holiday selfie for social media.

It is common for tiger entertainment venues to claim that they do not sedate the animals. Often, the explanation for their docile temperament is that they have been well fed prior to any tourist interaction, and that the animals have been raised alongside domesticated dogs and have learned “boundaries”. Despite their protestation, there are still a large number of reviews on social media and other websites, which seem to suggest that the animals have infact had some form of sedatives administered into them. But whether or not tigers are given chemical sedation, it is important to remember that if a tiger entertainment venue allows tourists to hold or hug a wild animal, its well-being has already been compromised.

This exploitation not only spells misery for the captive animals, but also fuels the poaching and trade of endangered wild tigers. Outside of the tourism and animal entertainment industry, many tigers live in captivity due to the demand for big cat farming, including skins for decoration and body parts for used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (“TCM”). Many believe that the protein and calcium in tiger bones have anti-inflammatory effects, and that tiger penises are aphrodisiacs. Practitioners of TCM have even claimed that tiger teeth, skin and eyelashes have their use in treating ailment or improving health. The scientific community has consistently rejected such claims but unfortunately these beliefs are deeply rooted in Chinese culture, and as such, the demand for these products is ever increasing.

In 1993, China put in place a ban on the use of tiger bones from wild animals, yet the use of these products from captive sources has seen a slow and steady growth. In October 2018, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China issued a circular replacing the 1993 ban, opening up exceptions under “special circumstances”, including “medical research”. After receiving a storm of protest from conservation groups over the plan to relax the prohibition, China has postponed the lifting of the ban.

There has been some recognition of social media’s role in the problem. In December 2017, Instagram introduced a feature: users who click or search on dozens of hashtags such as #tigerclubselfie, now get a pop up warning stating, “animal abuse and the sale of endangered animals or their parts is not allowed on Instagram. You are searching for a hashtag that may be associated with posts that encourage harmful behaviour to animals or the environment.”

The best advice for tourists wanting to travel around Asia is to do your research into the wildlife attractions that you may want to visit, keeping in mind that if a venue offers direct tourist interaction with captive animals or promotes the animals engaging in unnatural behaviour, then do not visit them. By curbing the income received by these venues, it will hopefully reduce the profitability of these venues and may eventually reduce the risk of tiger exploitation.

 

Palm Civets

The Asian palm civet is a small, nocturnal mammal that lives in the trees and forests of South and Southeast Asia. The Asian palm civets are believed to be one of the most common species of civets. Civets are often called civet cats (or luwak) but in fact they are not cats. They are more closely related to mongeese. According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of the Asian palm civet is unknown. Currently this species is classified as “Least Concern” on the list, but its numbers today are increasing. These animals are omnivorous, eating insects and small reptiles, in addition berries and pulpy fruits, and play an important part in the seed distribution in tropical jungles.

Although in some parts of Asia, the palm civets are hunted for bush meat as well as the pet trade, there has been an increase in popularity to use these animals in a more commercial enterprise. The demand for civet coffee, of kopi luwak as its known in Indonesia, has led to an increase in civets being captured from the wild and fed coffee beans to produce this unusual beverage. 

Kopi luwak is the world’s most expensive coffee, but what is it exactly that makes it any different from a regular barista made coffee? The secret seems to be found in the coffee beans. Kopi luwak uses coffee beans that have partially digested and then excreted by the civet. These animals are force-fed coffee cherries, which have been partially fermented as they pass through the civet’s intestines. Their digestive enzymes change the structure of proteins in the coffee beans, which is said to remove some the acidity to ultimately make a smoother cup of coffee. Kopi luwak attracts big-spending consumers. One cup of kopi luwak can sell for as much as US$80 (HKD$622). 

But as the coffee has gained popularity, more and more wild civets have been confined to cages on coffee plantations – in part for coffee production, but more as a tourist trap. Research has found that in Bali, 16 new plantations had been established for the purpose of international tourists. 14 of the 16 plantations produced the caged civet coffee on site, with the remaining two stating although no coffee was produced on site, civets were nevertheless kept in cages to entice tourists.

Researchers from Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit and the London-based non-profit World Animal Protection assessed the living conditions of nearly 50 wild civets held in cages at 16 plantations in Bali. They found among all plantations visited, all failed basic animal welfare requirements. Civets were housed in cramped cages with wire floors that cut into their feet, causing them physical and mental distress. They were often the size of rabbit hutches and soaked through with urine and droppings all over the place. The civets were deprived of everything that is natural and important to them, including freedom, exercise and social interactions with other civets. Again this exacerbates their stress leading them to bite the cage bars, their fur to fall out, thrash out trying to escape their solitary confinement and exhibit signs of zoochosis.

When tourists see the caged civets at coffee plantations, it convinces them that they are drinking genuine real civet coffee as part of their tour. However the reality is that there is actually no way to tell whether the kopi luwak a tourists purchase is made from wild or caged civets. Genuine kopi luwak from wild civets is difficult to purchase and there is little to no regulation regarding the use of the name “kopi luwak”. It has unfortunately become an increasingly commercial, abusive and fake industry.

Wild sourced, cage free coffee from the palm civet is the only humane option. It allows these animals to live in their natural habitat, and helps rural communities who live with the civets naturally, to generate a small income by collecting and selling the coffee beans excreted.

 

What should we do?

Asia has always been a highly sought after holiday destination for tourists and travellers from all over the world. Between the region’s tourism-friendly policies, low-cost connectivity and weak currencies, Asia is one of the fastest growing tourism hotspots in the world. A study by GlobalData, an analytic firm, found that in 2018 the region was home to six of the top 10 cities in terms of international visitor arrivals. Numbers of international visitors to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) region are only set to grow, with an estimated increase from 129.2 million visitors to 155.4 million in 2022.

There is a lack of transparency in the wildlife tourism industry, especially in Asia.  It is difficult to know whether cruelty, poaching or even illegal trade of wild animals has taken part behind the scenes. The growing popularity of social media has unfortunately normalised behaviour that actually puts wildlife in danger. The sharing of selfies, photos and or videos with wild animals that are enslaved to these entertainment venues surreptitiously sends a message to all those who see that this sort of activity is acceptable.

By declining to visit these places, you can send a powerful message to the owners and operators who extort and abuse animals for their own pecuniary advantage at the expense of their welfare. Instead, consider visiting places which put the welfare of animals at the forefront, and that make conscious efforts to rescue and save animals from their abusive prison. Saving one animal may not change the world, but it will change the world for that one animal.