Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. This helps me to keep bringing you travel updates and news. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.
I only recommend companies and products that I personally use.
When we travel, many of us are drawn to animals – whether it’s seeing elephants in Thailand, watching dolphins offshore, or visiting sanctuaries and wildlife parks. Most people want to do the right thing. They want to have meaningful experiences without causing harm. But when it comes to animals and tourism, good intentions aren’t always enough.
What looks ethical and what is ethical can be two very different things.
Over the years, I’ve seen this firsthand. I spent over nine years on the board of RSPCA Queensland. The organisation operates the largest wildlife animal hospital in the Southern Hemisphere. That experience taught me how easily animals can be harmed by systems that appear well-meaning and how important it is to ask better questions when animals are part of tourism.
In this post, I’ll walk you through what ethical animal tourism actually means, and why it’s about more than just appearances. We’ll look at two key animal welfare frameworks – the Five Freedoms and the Five Domains – and the core question I come back to again and again: Does this animal have a life worth living?
Ethical animal tourism is about making sure animals are treated with respect, dignity, and proper care in any tourist experience. It means thinking about more than just how an encounter makes us feel and instead focusing on whether the animals involved are living a life that meets their physical, emotional, and behavioural needs.
The word ethical gets used a lot in travel marketing, often without a clear definition. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, ethical means “relating to beliefs about what is morally right and wrong”. That sounds simple enough, but in practice, morality is shaped by many factors: our upbringing, cultural norms, religious beliefs, and personal values.
What one person sees as a heartwarming animal experience, another may see as exploitation. That’s why relying solely on gut feeling or cultural norms is not enough when it comes to animal welfare. We need something more consistent and objective.
You’ll find animals being used in tourism all over the world: elephants giving rides, monkeys performing tricks, lions kept in enclosures for selfies, and even animals featured in cafés or petting zoos. Some of these experiences may appear innocent or even helpful. But without proper oversight, many of them exist purely for entertainment or profit and often at the animal’s expense.
Ethical animal tourism challenges us to ask:
It’s about recognising that we’re part of the story, and our choices can either support or undermine animal welfare. The next time you see an animal offered as part of a tourist experience, pause and ask: what kind of life is this animal really living?
On the surface, animal tourism can look harmless, or even positive. A smiling tourist riding an elephant, a group of visitors feeding baby tigers, or a café full of cats lounging in the sun. But just because something looks cute or calm doesn’t mean it’s ethical.
Animals are used in tourism all over the world and not just in the ways we expect. It might be:
Some of these experiences are heavily marketed as conservation or education. Others are simply entertainment. But regardless of how they’re branded, what happens behind the scenes can tell a very different story.
Tourism can place animals under enormous stress: physically, mentally, and emotionally. In many cases, animals are restrained, overworked, deprived of natural behaviours, or kept in environments that don’t meet their basic needs. And because the goal is often to give tourists an unforgettable encounter, the animal’s wellbeing comes second.
What makes it even more complicated is that many of these experiences don’t look cruel. They don’t involve visible abuse or harm. But they still fall far short of what we would consider acceptable for our own pets, let alone wild or exotic animals.
This is where understanding the deeper layers of animal welfare becomes so important.
When we talk about animal welfare, one of the most widely accepted frameworks is the Five Freedoms. These principles were developed in response to growing concerns about how animals were being treated. While they started with livestock, they’re now used as a gold standard in animal welfare across all settings, including tourism.
The Five Freedoms are internationally recognised and aim to ensure that animals are free from suffering. They provide a solid foundation for assessing whether an animal’s basic physical and mental needs are being met.
Here’s what they mean in real terms:
While these freedoms are essential, they focus on preventing harm, which is only half the equation. Ethical animal tourism should not just avoid cruelty. It should actively support the animal’s ability to live a life that is healthy, fulfilling, and aligned with their natural instincts.
This is where the Five Domains take things to the next level.
While the Five Freedoms provide a solid foundation for animal welfare, they focus largely on avoiding suffering. But just like humans, animals need more than the absence of harm – they need the opportunity to experience positive states. That is where the Five Domains Model comes in.
Developed by Professor David Mellor and Dr Cam Reid, the Five Domains go beyond basic survival. They offer a more holistic view by looking at an animal’s overall quality of life, including their emotional and mental wellbeing. This model has become increasingly influential in animal welfare science and is now used by leading organisations around the world.
Here are the Five Domains:
What makes the Five Domains so powerful is that they shift the focus from simply avoiding harm to actively promoting positive experiences for animals.
This leads to the core concept of giving animals “a life worth living”. It’s not just about surviving; it is about thriving.
As RSPCA Australia puts it:
“To help ensure animals have a ‘life worth living’, they must have the opportunity to have positive experiences, such as anticipation, satisfaction and satiation. To enable this, those responsible for the care of animals need to provide them with environments that not only allow, but encourage animals to express behaviours that are rewarding.”
In other words, ethical treatment is not just about removing the bad; it’s about adding the good. It means animals can feel pleasure, excitement, and calm, not just the absence of pain or distress.
This is why ethical animal tourism has to mean more than just clean cages and regular meals. If an animal is drugged, confined, kept alone, or forced to repeat the same interactions day after day, it isn’t living a life worth living, no matter how well-fed or “safe” it might look on the surface.
When you assess an animal encounter through the lens of the Five Domains, you can start to see past the marketing and ask the deeper question: Does this animal truly have a life worth living?
At the heart of ethical animal tourism is a simple but powerful question:
Does this animal have a life worth living?
This phrase goes beyond checking boxes for food, shelter, and medical care. It asks whether an animal’s overall quality of life is genuinely positive, not just not bad, but truly good.
The concept of a “life worth living” comes from animal welfare science and combines all of the elements from the Five Freedoms and Five Domains. It recognises that animals, just like us, are sentient beings with complex needs. They experience comfort and stress, curiosity and boredom, companionship and loneliness.
In a tourism context, this means looking past the surface of an experience and asking harder questions:
Ethical animal tourism starts with the belief that animals deserve more than just to survive. They deserve to thrive – to live lives that are safe, natural, enriched, and emotionally fulfilling.
When that happens, we’re no longer just observers or tourists. We become part of something better – something that respects and protects the animals we claim to care about.
f you’re wondering how to put these ideas into practice, I’ve created a practical guide: How to Tell If an Animal Encounter Is Ethical – 14 Tips You Can Use on Any Trip. It breaks down exactly what to look for (and avoid) when considering any animal experience, from elephant rides to wildlife centres.
Start by asking questions about the animal’s care, environment, and behaviour. Are they free to rest, hide, and behave naturally? Are they handled or forced to perform? Use the Five Freedoms and Five Domains as your guide or head to the companion post, How to Tell if an Animal Encounter is Ethical: 14 Practical Tips for a full checklist.
Sadly, no. Some places use the word “sanctuary” as a marketing term. Always look for transparency: do they offer details about where the animals came from, what kind of care they receive, and what their long-term goals are?
Some accredited zoos do important work in conservation, education, and rehabilitation. But others fall short. Look at enclosure size, enrichment, social groupings, and whether the zoo is involved in meaningful breeding or rewilding programs. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer.
Not always – but often. If an animal is being restrained, drugged, forced to pose, or deprived of rest so tourists can take photos, it’s not ethical. Ethical encounters respect the animal’s boundaries and don’t prioritise social media moments over wellbeing.
Don’t beat yourself up. Most of us have. What matters is learning, adjusting your choices, and sharing what you’ve learned with others. Ethical travel is a journey, not a destination.
Ethical animal tourism isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being informed, compassionate, and curious enough to ask better questions. Every choice we make as travellers helps shape the future of animal welfare in tourism.
By understanding frameworks like the Five Freedoms and Five Domains, and by embracing the idea that animals deserve a life worth living, we can move beyond feel-good moments and towards meaningful experiences that genuinely respect the animals we encounter.
Because when we travel in ways that protect animals, we all benefit – travellers, communities, and most importantly, the animals themselves.
Hi, I’m Lisa Bundesen - the voice behind The Middle Age Wanderer. I’m a retired chartered accountant turned passionate traveller and photographer. Alongside my husband Darren (and with our two fur babies waiting at home in Australia), we explore the world one adventure at a time.
I’ve travelled to over 35 countries, and I created this blog to inspire fellow travellers in their 50s, 60s, and beyond to embrace adventure. Whether it’s hiking ancient trails, diving into new cultures, or sipping wine in scenic places, I believe life after 50 is the perfect time to explore more.
Here, you’ll find honest travel advice, destination guides, and real stories to help you travel smarter and with more confidence - because age is not a barrier, it’s an invitation.
Hi, I’m Lisa, a 50+ retired chartered accountant. My husband, Darren, and I explore the world every opportunity we get. Staying fit is key to our adventures, from hiking the Inca Trail to scuba diving. We call Australia home but travel overseas often, always eager to discover new cultures, bustling cities, cuisines, nature and wildlife.
We would love you to join us on our journeys and hope that our adventures give you encouragement to explore this amazing world.
As Seen On
Recent Posts
Action Camera We Use
How We Research Flights
How We Protect Our Laptop
Our Hiking Guide
Related Posts
Is it safe to travel in 2026? Learn the modern travel risks to watch and travel safety tips that help you stay confident, calm, and prepared. ✅✈️
Are animal cafes ethical? Use this quick decision guide to spot red flags, understand welfare concerns, and choose kinder alternatives that give animals a life worth living.
Worried about scams when travelling? Learn how to spot and avoid the most common travel scams before, during, and after your trip, without the stress.
Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and
Travelling somewhere cold? Skin care in cold destinations for travellers over 50 is about comfort, not perfection. Learn what really works.
