We’re Winning: More Than 50 Travel Companies Pull Elephant Rides
More than 50 companies, including Costco Travel and TripAdvisor, refuse to offer elephant rides!
As awareness of the cruelty of elephant rides and tourist traps continues to grow, dozens of travel companies are making the compassionate decision to disassociate themselves from any activities that exploit elephants. PETA applauds them for taking a stand against the inevitable misery that elephants experience from lugging tourists around on their backs for hours on end—even when they’re in pain or exhausted—under the constant threat of punishment.
Dozens of companies have agreed to not offer elephant rides in their itineraries, including the following:
- Accent on Travel
- Adventures Within Reach
- Africa Answers and Asia Answers
- Airbnb
- Albatros Travel
- Alexander+Roberts
- AmaWaterways River Cruises
- Apollo Travel
- Audley Travel
- Austin Adventures
- Avanti Destinations
- Backroads
- Booking.com
- Butterfield & Robinson
- Collette
- Costco Travel
- CruiseExperts Travel
- DK
- dnata Travel Group’s UK brands (Netflights, Travel Republic, Travelbag, and trade-only businesses Gold Medal and Travel 2)
- Down Under Answers
- ElderTreks
- Elegant Resorts
- Expedia
- First Festival Travel
- Fodor’s
- Friendly Planet Travel
- G Adventures
- Gate 1 Travel
- Globus family of brands
- Go Ahead Tours
- GoWay Travel
- Grand Circle Corporation
- Hachette Book Group
- Hauser Exkursionen
- Honeymoon Dreams
- Insight Guides
- Intrepid Travel
- Isram Israel USA
- Journeys International
- Kensington Tours
- KE Adventure Travel
- Ker & Downey
- Lotus Travel
- Majestic Vacations
- Mayflower Cruises and Tours
- Overseas Adventure Travel
- Project Expedition
- Pure Destinations
- Ritz Tours
- Riviera Travel
- Road Scholar
- Royal Caribbean
- Rustic Pathways
- Shore Excursions Group
- smarTours
- Solos Holidays
- Southall Travel
- Studiosus
- Tauck
- Thomas Cook
- Tours4Fun
- TravelLocal
- Travel PR
- Tribes Travel
- TripAdvisor
- Tripmasters
- TUI Group
- Vantage Explorations
- VegVoyages
- Vincent Vacations
- Wilderness Travel
- Winged Boots
TripAdvisor‘s website offers a helpful social platform for travelers, packed with posts to assist you with planning the perfect trip. For animal-friendly advice, be sure to follow PETA!
Elephants Don’t Give Rides or Perform Tricks Willingly
Elephants only allow people to ride them when constantly threatened with physical violence and psychological punishment. They’re typically beaten into submission with bullhooks—sharp steel-tipped weapons resembling fireplace pokers—and mahouts (trainers) always have one in hand.
To train baby elephants to be subservient in the tourism industry, they’re often forcibly separated from their mothers, tied down and immobilized with ropes, and beaten mercilessly, sometimes for days on end. During these spirit-breaking sessions, some of them die.
Those who survive are forced to live the rest of their lives in servitude, lugging tourists around—sometimes for hours on end, or even when they’re exhausted or injured
Help Us End ALL Elephant Rides
Public opposition to using animals for human entertainment is stronger than it’s ever been. But a handful of companies still continue to endorse the beating, prodding, and torture of elephants by offering rides on them. Stand with PETA today and help us end elephant rides around the world.
