7 experiences to avoid on holiday if you actually like animals

If you love animals, it's natural to want to get close to those you might not normally see, or to be able to experience them in new ways when you're on holiday. But not all human interaction is good for animals, and a lot of us have no idea about the cruelty that exists behind these 'attractions'.

Here, PETA director Elisa Allen lists the animal-related experiences to avoid when you're on your travels.

"Marine parks all over the world let visitors swim with, touch, and even ride on highly intelligent dolphins. In the ocean, these animals swim up to 40 miles each day and live in close family groups. But in captivity, they're confined to concrete pools filled with chemically treated water that offer almost no stimulation. Being forced to swim with crowds of visitors adds to the stress endured by these gentle animals, who often lash out with aggressive behaviour as a result. To see dolphins in nature, check out dolphin hotspots from the beach."

"A PETA exposé revealed that donkeys used for tourist rides on the island of Santorini are forced to carry heavy loads, denied food and water, and given no respite from the scorching Mediterranean sun. If they become too weak to work, they're sometimes abandoned to die. Their owners and local authorities hold on to these "traditional" rides, even though they apparently breach Greek animal welfare laws. Recent footage from 2019 shows that the abuse is still going on."

"Few beauty-lovers are aware of the animal abuse and hygiene issues inherent in fish pedicures. The fish commonly used in these treatments are severely starved to motivate them to nibble the dead skin off customers' feet. Anyone can buy the fish from importers, and they're posted to the recipient inside water-filled plastic bags. Some don't survive the journey. When pedicure tubs are full of fish, they can't be sufficiently disinfected between customers, and there's no way to sanitise the animals themselves."

"In Spain, Egypt, New York, and many other travel destinations, horses are forced to pull heavy carriages filled with tourists for miles around attractions or through chaotic city streets, often in high temperatures, while suffering from physical and mental exhaustion. They're made to walk and stand on hard surfaces for long periods, which typically causes them to develop debilitating leg conditions and sustain damage to their hooves. Many eventually become lame. Owners and drivers often ignore these painful conditions – either because they don't recognise the animals' distress or because they're unwilling to lose a few days' work to allow them to rest and heal."

"Snakes who are used for the 'dances' that snake charmers sell to tourists are captured in their natural habitats. Their teeth are yanked out without any painkillers, their mouths are commonly sewn shut (leaving a little gap to pour water or milk through), and their venom ducts are often pierced with a hot needle, causing the glands to burst and incapacitating their most effective defence mechanism. They don't live very long after being subjected to this abuse, and death is slow and painful. The 'dance' they perform is actually a reactive sway in fear of the charmer's movements – as a means of self-defence from attack by the pipe. Snake charming is so abusive, in fact, that the Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972 actually banned it, but snake charmers continue to operate."

"Kopi luwak is considered an exotic delicacy, but this coffee – made from the berries of coffee beans that have been eaten and excreted by Asian palm civets – involves abject cruelty. Eyewitness footage from kopi luwak farms, some of which advertise their coffee as "wild-sourced", shows sick civets suffering from skin infections and exhibiting signs of zoochosis – a condition that's common in captive wild animals and involves neurotic behaviour patterns such as pacing, spinning, and head-bobbing – indications that the animals are being driven mad by confinement. Compassionate tourists should get their caffeine fix from animal-free sources for which no one had to suffer."

"Starfish are sensitive living beings, not souvenirs, and they suffer when forcefully pulled out of their homes by tourists. Because they can't breathe out of water, they suffocate in a matter of minutes. Others perish as a result of the stress of handling or from coming into contact with perfume, sunscreen, or other chemicals on human skin. When people are lucky enough to see an animal in the wild, they should revel in the watching, not the touching, and if they come across an aquarium or other attraction offering photo ops with animals, they should refuse to buy a ticket."