Animal Welfare Policy

Last Reviewed: October 2026

Developed in collaboration with World Animal Protection

🌍 Introduction

At Much Better Adventures, we are committed to responsible and sustainable tourism, with animal welfare at the heart of everything we do. We believe that wildlife should remain wild, and nature should remain natural. Our aim is to offer authentic, enriching experiences that benefit our customers, local communities, and wildlife alike.

We will never knowingly compromise the wellbeing of any animal for the sake of our trips. We believe all animals deserve a good life – one where they enjoy good health, natural behaviours, positive experiences and veterinary care, as appropriate. We strongly discourage customers from taking part in activities that exploit or harm animals, whether wild or domesticated.

All animal-related experiences on our trips are assessed against the Five Domains of Animal Welfare, covering nutrition, environment, health, behaviour and mental state. This policy has been developed using established animal welfare frameworks and best practice guidance. It draws on recognised standards for wildlife tourism, working animals, and responsible wildlife viewing, alongside ongoing collaboration with our local hosts. The sources and frameworks that inform our approach are listed in the Appendix and are reviewed regularly to ensure this policy remains current and robust.

This policy applies to all of our local hosts, and to all Much Better Adventures customers joining any of our trips worldwide. Its purpose is to help you engage responsibly with wildlife and domesticated animals in ways that support high welfare standards and protect natural environments. The policy outlines what Much Better Adventures commits to as a company, what we expect from our host partners and how customers can ensure their own actions support animal welfare.

❌ Unacceptable experiences

Much Better Adventures prohibits activities involving exploitation or cruelty. The following activities are widely associated with poor welfare outcomes, including stress, injury, loss of natural behaviour, and long-term confinement, which is why we do not include or support them on our trips.

We do not include on our trips or allow:

🐘 Close interaction with wild animals, including riding elephants/washing elephants/walking with lions/feeding giraffes/swimming with whales and dolphins in captivity.

🎪 Watching wild animal performances, including dolphin shows, circuses, or orangutan boxing.

🤳 Selfies or posed photos with wild animals.

🐃 Watching animal fighting, racing, or forced entertainment events, including but not limited to bullfighting, elephant polo, ostrich riding or racing, and cockfighting. We also avoid cultural festivals or events where animal use has been introduced or significantly intensified specifically to meet tourism demand, rather than reflecting an unaltered local tradition.

🐍 Visiting captive breeding farms (e.g. crocodile, big cats, civet coffee, bear bile, turtle or ostrich farms).

🏹 Engaging in hunting of any kind, baited shark/crocodile diving.

🎣 Sport fishing purely for recreation (rather than food).

🐬 Marine entertainment parks and aquariums that keep large marine mammals captive.

🧺 Supporting animals used for begging or photo props, such as dancing bears, snake charmers, or buying food for elephants and monkeys.

🏨 Hotels or restaurants displaying captive wildlife.

🍞 Offering food to encourage closer interactions that interfere with wildlife’s natural behaviour, e.g. leaving food near a bear hide or putting food in the sea to attract marine wildlife.

🛍️ The opportunity to purchase or consume any wild animal products, including but not limited to: ivory, rhino or other horn, turtle shell, coral, seashells or starfish, civet coffee (kopi luwak), bear bile products, shark or turtle fin soup, snake whiskey, tiger or lion bone wine, ostrich meat or feathers, and other wildlife-derived foods, medicines or décor items.

💉 Any drugging or sedation of animals for tourism or entertainment purposes.

This list is part of ongoing review and collaboration with hosts.

🐕 The difference between wild and domesticated animals

Much Better Adventures recognises the difference between wild and domesticated animals:

Wild animals (such as orangutans or tigers) remain inherently wild, and their welfare is always compromised when kept for tourism or entertainment. The best way to experience them is in their natural habitats.
Domesticated animals (such as dogs, horses, or yaks) have adapted over generations to live alongside people. Even so, they deserve respect, care, and protection.

A note on the use of elephants: we recognise the cultural, social and economic significance of elephants in some destinations. However, as mentioned above, we do not sell activities that offer interactions with wild animals such as elephants since, in many cases, the training process involves outdated or harmful taming or training methods (e.g. bullhooks in training or forced separation of calves), regardless of whether direct interaction is offered to guests.

🐾 Viewing wildlife in the wild

Much Better Adventures, alongside our local hosts, is committed to responsible wildlife watching. These guidelines, covering both land and marine environments, are designed to protect the wellbeing of wildlife and ensure the safety of our customers and our staff.

We ask those joining our trips to follow these simple actions, which protect animal welfare while giving you the best chance of seeing natural behaviour.

General wildlife etiquette:

Follow the guidance of your local guides, drivers, or rangers, but speak up if something doesn’t feel right.
Animals should never be cornered or boxed in.
Keep your distance – if animals react to your presence, you’re too close.
No touching or feeding – avoid physical contact and offering food.
Stay calm and quiet – loud sounds and sudden movement are disruptive.
Avoid night lights – never illuminate animals’ eyes or prey.
Guides have full authority to end an encounter early.
While on safari:
- Stay in the vehicle unless directed by your guide.
- Observe posted speed limits (commonly 40kph/25mph in National Parks).
- Remain on designated roads and tracks — no off-road driving except where explicitly permitted by the site.

Marine and habitat protection:
- Do not touch, stand on, or remove coral, shells or starfish.

- Use reef-safe sunscreen.
- Do not attempt to attract marine wildlife with sound or light.
- Do not throw rubbish or food overboard.
- Maintain legislated approach distances and a steady, no-wake speed around whales and dolphins, taking particular care around mothers, young, and resting or feeding animals.
- Do not deliberately chase marine wildlife, whether in a boat or while in the water (e.g. when snorkelling or swimming).
- Do not interrupt natural behaviours such as feeding or mating.
- We prioritise local hosts who can demonstrate compliance with local marine wildlife regulations.

The host should conduct a thorough briefing before the tour, covering safety measures, required items, expectations for tourist behaviour, and key rules as mentioned above. The operator needs to inform all guests about the possible risks associated with an encounter and the ways in which risks are mitigated to keep all people and animals as safe as possible.

For those interested in learning more, please refer to the Appendix for further reading and best practice resources.

🐴 Domesticated working animals

On a small number of trips (around 10%), our local hosts still use domesticated working animals such as mules or yaks carrying equipment, horse or camel riding, or husky sledding.

We know that some customers may wonder why animals are still used at all. In many destinations, working animals remain an important part of local culture and daily life, supporting both communities and livelihoods. By travelling responsibly, we can help encourage better welfare standards while also supporting the people who depend on them.

Having said this, we are actively working towards reducing (and potentially removing completely) the use of working animals where possible and sensible. We are committed to ensuring that this transition is respectful and sustainable for both the animals and the local communities. Therefore, our policy is to work slowly and carefully, as we understand in more depth the wide-reaching and potentially adverse effects of any decisions.

Welfare standards:

Where working animals are used on our trips, their welfare comes first and the following standards must be met:

Animals are suited to the activity and equipment used fits comfortably, is in good condition and does not cause distress or injury
Animals are well-fed, sheltered, and exercised regularly
Animals are not overloaded (max 20% of body weight) or pushed beyond safe limits
Sick or injured animals never work and receive proper treatment
Young, elderly, or pregnant animals are given appropriate care and rest.
Animals are given regular rest and time off
Handlers use kind, respectful methods – never force or harmful practices such as nose pegs, whips or hobbles
Tethering during non-working periods is kept to a minimum and always allows animals to stand, lie down comfortably, and access food, water, and shelter.

We are only at the start of this process, so will update this page as and when required, to truthfully reflect our journey.

🐻 Animal sanctuaries

Much Better Adventures only includes visits to facilities with wild animals in captivity if the sanctuary’s operations are in the best interests of the animals involved.

An animal sanctuary is not:

a petting zoo;
an animal temple or place of worship involving captive animals;
an animal café;
a marine entertainment park or aquarium;
a zoo or venue that buys, sells, breeds outside a recognised release programme, or facilitates direct interaction with wild, sick, injured or rescued animals.

We are committed to visiting only establishments that meet the following animal care guidelines:

Do not buy or sell wild animals or animal parts.
Do not use wild animals for customer interactions including (but not limited to) feeding or petting, or for performances/shows.
Do not breed wild animals unless part of an official, recognised breeding programme aimed at responsible release into the wild, especially for endangered species.
Do not take animals from the wild unless they are injured.
Do not keep animals without a good reason (i.e. they must have a defined conservation or welfare benefit to keep the animals).
Do not keep wild animals to make a profit.
Ensure animals receive appropriate veterinary care tailored to their needs.
Where possible, we prioritise sanctuaries accredited by recognised bodies or directly supported by international animal welfare organisations.

Domestic animal sanctuaries: the same principles apply where we visit sanctuaries for retired or surrendered domestic or working animals (e.g. racehorses, livestock, dogs); however, in this instance, petting may be permitted if it is in no way detrimental to the animal.

Where a host holds a recognised third-party certification or industry framework (e.g. Travelife, SATSA), we consider this as supporting evidence. Where there is a conflict in standards or specified guidelines, this policy is prioritised. Where no such certification exists, we require the host's own documented welfare policy, assessed against this policy and relevant national legislation before a product is listed, and periodically thereafter.

📢 Speak up

Your feedback is vital. If you see something on a trip that doesn’t feel right, please let us know by contacting us at hello@muchbetteradventures.com. Whilst we work closely with our local hosts, we can’t be everywhere at once. By sharing your observations, you help us improve and ensure that animal welfare stays at the core of adventure travel.

By being curious, respectful, and speaking up when something feels wrong, you’re helping to create a future where animal welfare always comes first.

📚 Appendix & further reading

The resources below have informed the development of our Animal Welfare Policy and reflect the standards and guidance we use when assessing animal-related experiences on our trips. They also provide additional context for customers who would like to understand the wider evidence base behind our approach.

For specific details about animal welfare practices on your chosen trip, we are currently working to update the FAQ section on the specific trip page, which outlines any animal encounters that are found on a particular trip.

Animal Experiences Database

We have conducted a full audit of all trips to ensure we are aware of all existing experiences involving animals and that we have recorded all known direct interactions. All animal-related experiences featured on Much Better Adventures trips are logged in a central database, which is reviewed annually by our Operations Team. We can refer to this database for both future product development and understanding past decisions. This policy is also reviewed periodically, including through engagement with independent welfare organisations where available.