“Individual travel companies and tour operators also need to do more to ensure that they don’t promote or sell excursions that feature animal photo props and close-contact activities with captive wild animals,” Born Free wrote in a report published on Thursday (1 June).
The call to arms is part of the charity’s campaign to end the practice of people using animals as props in their holiday photos. Born Free has urged Brits abroad to stop taking “Selfish Selfies” this summer, as animals used in their pictures are usually being abused and exploited for financial gains.
According to the report, wild animals in popular tourist destinations are often forcibly removed from their mothers, have their claws or teeth removed to stop them from scratching and at times are drugged to be more harmless.
Other risks of taking Selfish Selfies include the transmission of illnesses to humans as well as other potential incidents.
“People might question what real harm that one quick ‘must-have’ photo could cause, but it should be remembered that there are many other people handling or posing with the same animal, every single day, with serious health and welfare implications for the animals, health and safety risks for any people involved, and threats to species in the wild,” said head of policy Dr Mark Jones.
His words were echoed by co-founder Will Travers, who also called on social media platforms to “make the publishing of a Selfish Selfie a reportable animal cruelty issue”.
