Attractions to Avoid

Transportation Using Animals

Horses, ponies, donkeys, camels, elephants, and other animals are often used to give rides to tourists and pull carts or carriages. They are often malnourished, ill, overworked, and forced to work in extreme temperatures. Animals sometimes collapse from exhaustion or are injured in accidents when they are spooked by people, cars, and other unpredictable factors.

In Thailand and other Asian countries, young elephants are often torn from their mothers, chained, and subjected to savage beatings for several days or weeks in order to "break" them and make them docile enough to give rides to tourists.

Instead of patronizing people who hurt and abuse animals to make money, walk, ride a bicycle, rent a car, or use the public bus or rail system. Click here for more information.