Volunteering projects with wildlife exist all over the globe. Many of them certainly make a meaningful contribution to species conservation, are active in the field of environmental education, and/or conduct research that provides insights needed for conservation work. However, one can also find numerous programs that only serve as a source of income for their operators and for volunteering agencies that don't take animal welfare and species conservation seriously into consideration. Some projects even abuse animals and deliberately provide false information about the purpose of their activities.
This article aims to raise awareness of critical issues related to volunteering with animals and explains what matters to World Unite! in this regard.
Please see two examples from the multitude of unethical volunteering programs with animals that exist:
Lions are wild animals and no pets!
‘Lion Projects’
One of the worst examples that can be given are "Lion Projects" in southern Africa.
For the operators of such projects and volunteering agencies sending international volunteers, these projects are a lucrative business. First, lion cubs are torn from their mothers shortly after birth (the mothers are often shot dead). Foreign volunteers are given other explanations for why the lion cubs are orphaned, and they pay to care for the orphaned baby lions. At the same time, the lion cubs often serve as a tourist attraction. Tourists are photographed with the lion cubs or go for a walk with them ('Walking with the lions'). Once the tame lions are grown, they are allowed to run freely in a large enclosure where they are shot by foreign trophy hunters for a hefty fee (for more information, use a search engine with the keywords "canned hunting"). The exploitation chain of the lions continues because after the animals are killed, their bones are sold to Asian countries, where they are used to make traditional medicine. Similar exploitation chains exist with other wild animals such as leopards, tigers, and monkeys.
Of course, not all projects dealing with wild animals act in this way. However, due to a lack of information provided by projects and volunteering agencies, it is often difficult to impossible for volunteers to differentiate between genuine conservation projects and fake ones. Many of our competitors do not thoroughly investigate the placements they offer and must therefore be blamed for recklessly supporting and profiting from such unethical projects.
All wildlife projects that we have been working with in South Africa for years are listed as ‘good’ projects by ‘Volunteers in Africa Beware’, a non-profit initiative that unfortunately has been discontinued due to a lack of funding.
Tourists are riding on elephants in the Indian city of Jaipur.
‘Elephant Projects’
In the city of Jaipur in northern India, Asian elephants are kept in the city for transporting goods and for tourists to ride on. The elephants are usually kept in terrible conditions and parked like vehicles in garages. Often, they are the victims of accidents in inner-city traffic, resulting in severe injuries. International volunteering has opened up yet another, even more lucrative business for the owners of these elephants: as an "elephant project", foreign paying volunteers are sold the opportunity to "take care" of the animals. The profit motivates the elephant owners and providers of these volunteering programs to keep the elephants in poor conditions to continue attracting volunteers who want to "help poor elephants." Volunteers often assume that the "Mahout" elephant keepers, who live in poverty with the elephants, are actually the owners of the elephants and that they don't have the financial means to provide appropriate housing for the elephants. However, in reality, the Mahouts are only employees of the real elephant owners, who are typically wealthy families owning many elephants. Unknowingly and in good faith, the volunteers increase the suffering of the animals.
What can I do as a volunteer?
As long as there are volunteers willing to spend their money on such and similar programs, operators and providers of unethical volunteering programs with animals will be motivated to continue their animal-hostile business. Awareness must be raised to make foreign volunteers think twice when choosing their volunteering program with animals. You should research as much as possible about the volunteering placement you are interested in, even beyond the information given by the provider of the volunteering placement. If you are unsure about the ethical nature of an animal-related volunteering program, you should better stay away from it.
What is World Unite! doing to ensure that animal projects make sense and are well-run?
We have various team members who have academic degrees in related subjects who thoroughly investigate and consult all wildlife projects we work with and, if needed, develop them further to improve standards. The emphasis is on ensuring that a real contribution to conservation is at the heart of the project instead of the commercial exploitation of animals.
For all placements with animals, we try to adhere to ABTA's "Global Welfare Guidance for Animals in Tourism" and the criteria published in the manual of ABTA's "Unacceptable and Discouraged Practices", which apply to animals living in the wild and animals living in captivity. The guidelines and practices are based on scientific evidence, and the publications provide detailed information about many animal species.
For free-roaming wild animals, the ABTA guidelines include unacceptable practices such as human-initiated physical interaction with dolphins and whales, unregulated animal and plant collection from the wild, and disruption to natural feeding and breeding behaviors, e.g., by safari vehicles chasing and encircling animals.
So-called ex situ conservation measures include the keeping of wild animals in captivity, which might be necessary in certain situation, for example, in the rearing of young animals of endangered species for later release when in the wild if they have little chance of survival due to human or natural influences. Another common reason for temporary captivity is the medical treatment of injured wild animals. Furthermore, there are some projects keeping animals which are dedicated to environmental education, for instance teaching children scientific and respectful co-existence with animals. Should none of above reasons be given, no wild animals shall be kept in captivity.
The most important aspect if animals are kept in captivity is the keeping conditions. They must be appropriate for the respective species. ABTA is referring to the principle of the "Five Freedoms".
The Five Freedoms - Minimum Requirements
At the Zanzibar Turtles and Tortoise Land, 4 protected Giant Aldabra Tortoises freely roam around a large area that has all kind of vegetation and sunny and shaded areas.
Good Feeding
All animals have constant access to clean drinking water and are provided with sufficient and appropriate food.
The feeding routine mentally stimulates the animals and encourages natural behavior.
Good Housing
The enclosures allow the animals to move and exercise freely, and they maintain a sufficient distance from other animals.
The enclosures are environmentally complex and equipped with environmental enrichments. They provide suitable climatization and shelter from adverse weather conditions, and they are kept clean at all times.
Good Health
A veterinarian who is experienced in the health of the relevant animals can be consulted.
Legal and medical documentation about all animals is maintained on file.
No surgical modification is performed on the animals without a genuine medical treatment background.
Appropriate Behaviour
Animals can interact with fellow animals of their species and display natural social behavior.
Any kind of training should only involve natural behavior and be based on positive reinforcement.
Protection from Fear and Distress
Animals will not be exposed to situations that cause them fear and distress, such as being touched by humans.
They have the ability to seek privacy/refuge.
Awareness of Animal Welfare
Based on the ABTA Guidelines, we regularly train our local staff and if necessary team members of animal conservation projects we cooperate with to develop awareness about these issues and act accordingly.
Nevertheless, we must point out that this is a long journey, especially in so-called developing countries, where there is a substantial backlog concerning animal welfare issues. Even though Japan is a developed country, when it comes to animal-keeping standards, it is light-years behind Western standards. Fully reaching Western standards is a process that takes time and must proceed step by step.
Read the ABTA publications:
● Global Welfare Guidance for Animals in Tourism
● Unacceptable and Discouraged Practices
In case of questions, you can email to
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