Turtle Conservation with Responsible Travel

For a hands-on experience, consider volunteering for a sea turtle conservation group through

• Togluulagch 11 player
• Togluulagch 22 player
• TOGLUULAGCH 33 player
• 4 playerVideo Description
• Togluulagch 55 player

Responsible Travel. During your stay, you will get the chance to collect data from turtle nests and monitor turtle activity at sea. Once the work day is done, volunteers are encouraged to explore the local town and go snorkeling.Getting the chance to see wild animals in their natural environment can be a magnificent and humbling experience. Unfortunately, there are very few opportunities for us to witness animals outside of zoos or circuses here in the United States. For this reason, many people travel abroad to get the chance to see their favorite animals up close and personal. Thailand is an especially popular destination for animal lovers who want the chance to see elephants or tigers. There is a plethora of animal attractions that offer everything from “selfies” with tigers to elephant massages. It might seem like an exciting opportunity to interact with exotic animals. The downside to visiting these places, however, is the lack of value that they place on animal welfare. Many attractions plug conservation initiatives in an effort to justify keeping wild elephants and tigers captive, but the reality is quite the opposite. For example, the Tiger Temple in Thailand is a booming enterprise that offers tourists the chance to pet, feed and take photos with tigers. To the big cat lover, this opportunity might seem just too good to be true … and sadly it is. Although the Temple’s monks insist that they care for the tigers and claim they are docile because they have been hand-reared, the truth is that all of the tigers have been brutally beaten and abused to learn to fear their captors. There are also rumors that the tigers are in fact drugged, which makes them appear “sleepy” and “content.” The Tiger Temple in Thailand was recently raided as allegations surfaced that the Buddhist monks were illegally breeding their tigers and trafficking them across international borders. Not exactly our idea of “conservation.” Elephant tourism also runs rampant in Thailand. Like in the case of Tiger Temple, elephant trekking camps attempt to convince tourists that they care about the animals, but in reality they abuse and torture these animals to get them to follow instructions. Sadly, while there are likely more abusive animal attractions out there than there are humane ones, that doesn’t mean that the latter does not exist. In fact, there are many kind alternatives to the cruel animal attractions you can find in Thailand, you just have to know where to look! Here are a few to keep in mind if a trip to Thailand is in your future!