10 popular tourist attractions cruel to animals

Some of the most popular recreational activities can be lurking and we may not even be aware of them. Koalas, playful monkeys, graceful snakes or friendly dolphins can give us new experiences, but the animals themselves suffer greatly from these things. Lack of space, poor diet, chains, and fatigue are just a small list of what happens to them behind the scenes.

We invite you to see the real side of some of the most popular travel activities supported by millions of tourists every year. After reading this, you can reconsider your views.

10 PHOTOS

1. Watching the performances of dolphins.
Dolphinariums may seem like a fun and rather innocent attraction, but most of us are unaware of the cruel things that turn out to be in this show. To bring dolphins to the dolphinarium, they are chased in the wild and caught in nets. During transportation, animals are under great stress, and many of them die before even getting there. Those who manage to survive spend their lives in small swimming pools learning tricks, which is completely unnatural for them.

2. Elephant trekking.
When we ride an elephant, we may be surprised at how calm and slow this animal is. The sad truth is that his spirit is broken. Baby elephants are taken from their mothers and subjected to violent training with painful physical limitations and limited food and water. Animals are kept in chains for life and are not allowed to interact with other elephants. All of this completely disrupts their psychological and physical well-being.

3. Bear parks.
In the wild, bears prefer to live alone. In bear parks, they are kept in pits and cages. There are usually more than 3 bears in one place, which makes them too crowded. Moreover, their torture does not end there. In some parks, they are forced to dress in different costumes and perform tricks for visitors. This forces the animals to withstand a tremendous amount of stress.

4. Dancing monkeys.
In popular tourist destinations such as Thailand, captured macaques have to deal with many unpleasant things. They are trained to perform tricks and dance for the crowd. This may sound funny to us, but the animal is not having fun at this moment. When the show ends, the macaques are shackled and kept in small cages.

5. Taming of snakes.
This ancient entertainment attracts many people of different age groups. Watching these dangerous animals is mesmerizing. In fact, these cobras are without fangs - they are removed. Then their venom ducts are also blocked to keep the animal safe. This often leads to various infections and kills them.

6. Civets on coffee plantations.
One cup of Kopi Luwak coffee can cost anywhere from $ 35 to $ 100. Civets love to eat coffee berries, and this exotic coffee is made from the beans inside the berries that are sourced from civet droppings. As farmers try to produce more coffee, they catch civets and keep them in small cages. This terrible act leads to injury and illness among the captured animals and creates great stress for them. Moreover, they are forced to eat large amounts of coffee berries, which is bad for them.

7. Bullfighting.
This barbaric tradition leads to the death of thousands of bulls every year. Before a fight, bullfighters use various methods to weaken the animal and make sure it does not win. They can drug them, throw sandbags on their backs, or even rub Vaseline into their eyes to impair their vision. In a real fight, bulls are stabbed in the back and neck and are exhausted in every way. Usually, bulls leave the arena paralyzed.

8. Fish pedicure.
Garra Rufa fish is commonly used for this procedure. They eat dead skin, not because they really enjoy it, but because they are starving and have to eat it for food. Even though these fish are protected by law in some countries, people can still buy them online and they will be shipped by mail in plastic bags filled with water. Many of them die during this delivery process.

9. Hugs with koalas.
No doubt koalas are very cute and anyone might want to hug them. But in fact, koalas do not like to communicate with people. It's too stressful, noisy and fast for them. However, they only have to do this to attract tourists, which causes a lot of stress and injury.

10. Horse carriages.
So many couples love to ride romantic horse-drawn carriages during their holidays. From the horse's point of view, there is nothing sweet about the experience. The animals are now wearing a seat belt and forced to walk for hours, in all weather conditions and noisy streets. It strains them so much that sometimes they fall.