by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 8:00 AM ET, Wed July 10, 2024
A new report from the global non-profit World Animal Protection (WAP) is calling out the tour booking platform GetYourGuide for continuing to sell experiences that the non-profit says involve abusing animals and subjecting them to a lifetime in captivity.
The report identifies what WAP calls the “worst animal tourism operators” selling experiences via the global GetYourGuide platform.
The tour operators named in the report are accused of running venues where “animals endure abusive training, are provided inadequate food and water, and are forced into frightening interactions with people."
“We’re warning travelers to steer clear of GetYourGuide until it adopts a robust and public animal welfare policy. Until then, GetYourGuide’s customers are inadvertently supporting animal cruelty," says Liz Cabrera Holtz, senior programs manager, World Animal Protection, US.
Notorious Miami Seaquarium still sold on platform
Among the venues identified by the report for selling cruel animal experiences via the GetYourGuide platform is the troubled and notorious Miami Seaquarium in Florida, where a dolphin with acute trauma was found dead at the bottom of a tank. The Seaquarium is notorious for the mistreatment of animals in its care.
In March, a Miami-Dade commission issued eviction papers to the owners of the Seaquarium following scathing federal reports about the care of marine mammals in captivity there. Those reports included findings of animal neglect during USDA inspections. The USDA reports cited the Seaquarium's failure to provide adequate treatment, protection, and care to its animals. Among the report's findings were that dolphins at the facility were subjected to a "60% cut in daily food rations" resulting in "very thin dolphins."
One dolphin, named 'Star' a 23-year-old female dolphin, had her diet "abruptly reduced from 12 pounds daily in January 2022 to a mere 4 pounds daily in March. Other dolphins at the facility were found to be 35 pounds below the appropriate goal weight for such animals, per the USDA report.
Even the mayor of Miami-Dade County, Daniella Levine Cava, weighed in on the Seaquarium's gross mistreatment of animals in 2022, writing in a memo to Miami's Board of County Commissioners that she was "deeply disturbed by the findings of the recent USDA report regarding our marine life at Miami Seaquarium."
Research conducted by TravelPulse found that there are still experiences available on GetYourGuide that include the Seaquarium.
Contacted by TravelPulse for comment about the WAP report and the vendors that WAP says are engaging in animal cruelty, a GetYourGuide spokesman said:
"GetYourGuide
consistently requires suppliers to have the right insurance and safety
protocols and removes activities that do not align with our policies. We
continually evolve our standards and processes for experiences that
fail to comply with our policies, and continue to review experiences on
an ongoing basis."
Additional venues named in report
The Miami Seaquarium is perhaps the most-well known offender still available on GetYourGuide. But there are others that have had faced scrutiny and criticism as well.
Another venue identified by the WAP report, Amer Fort (sometimes also referred to as Amber Fort) in India, has faced a litany of complaints from visitors who have been to the venue and witnessed elephants being treated with excessive cruelty, including elephants being beaten with bull hooks, mahouts beating the elephants with sticks, and elephants being forced to work in unbearable heat with very little water or food, among other offenses outlined on TripAdvisor.
At another venue identified by the WAP report, Cayman Turtle Centre in the Cayman Islands, a turtle died after a visitor picked the turtle up and then dropped it, cracking the turtle’s shell, says WAP.
TripAdvisor has identified the facility as one that does not meet its animal welfare standards. In addition, tourists that have visited the turtle center have posted their own complaints about the extremely poor conditions the turtles live in. Experiences involving the turtle center are still available on the GetYourGuide platform.
Also on WAP’s list of cruel animal venues partnering with GetYourGuide are self-proclaimed elephant sanctuaries in Thailand, Daniel Johnson’s Monkey and Sloth Hangout in Honduras, Gatorland in the United States, and Bali Safari Marine Park in Indonesia.
Industry-wide challenges require public welfare policies
Wild animals used throughout the tourism industry are often forcibly taken from their natural habitats or bred into captivity, often separated from their families at an early age.
These animals, according to WAP, suffer immensely from the moment they are born or captured, and then throughout their entire lives. Their lives typically include harm, stress, and discomfort at venues that fail to meet even the animals’ most basic needs.
This reality has been documented time and time again, particularly with regard to elephants used in the tourism industry.
WAP has long been working to spread awareness of such issues and as part of that effort says it has been calling upon GetYourGuide to adopt a public animal welfare policy since 2022 without success.
When contacted by TravelPulse for comment, GetYourGuide pointed TravelPulse to a page on its website where it outlines the company’s “Restricted Products and Responsible Tourism Guidelines.”
That page details the ethical standards that GetYourGuide says it follows including that:
“Products must align with GetYourGuide's values regarding animal welfare and suitability for a diverse global audience” and that “Activities involving captive wild animals or demeaning performances will not be accepted.”
The policy also adds that “Harming or killing endangered species or engaging in unethical practices is not allowed.”
A global travel company, GetYourGuide sells more than 100,000 products worldwide from more than 20,000 supply partners.
Cabrera Holtz, from WAP, says the non-profit has made no progress establishing dialogue with GetYourGuide to discuss the adopting of a public animal welfare policy.
“While other global travel companies like Airbnb, Expedia, and Booking.com dropped captive wildlife venues after working with World Animal Protection, GetYourGuide has made no effort to protect wild animals,” Cabrera Holtz told TravelPulse.
Airbnb, Booking.com, and The Travel Corporation have all removed captive wildlife venues from their sites.
WAP also successfully worked with the online travel company Klook to end that company's sale of circus-style animal performances. In 2023, the travel company announced a new animal welfare policy that included no longer selling animal shows and animal photo experiences. Klook's policy shift included the immediate removal of offerings for the Miami Seaquarium and Sea Life
Park Hawaii.
WAP is hoping for similar progress with GetYourGuide.
“We’re warning travelers to steer clear of GetYourGuide until it adopts a robust and public animal welfare policy,” Cabrera Holtz added. “Until then, GetYourGuide’s customers are inadvertently supporting animal cruelty.”
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