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This Travel Site Is Far From Savvy When It Comes to Elephant Exploitation

UN LAB Middleware Label: Title Ends

TripSavvy, a popular travel-planning website, gives travelers misleading and incomplete information about exploitative elephant attractions, including those that offer rides and illegitimate "sanctuaries" that allow direct interaction with elephants, like touching, feeding, and bathing, which no reputable sanctuary in the world does.

At sham elephant “sanctuaries” and other tourism facilities, elephants don’t roam freely in their natural habitat—their lives consist of exploitation, abuse, and forced, stressful interactions with the public. All elephants who are used for rides, bathing, photo ops, and other interactions first endure abusive training to "break" their spirits, followed by routine beatings and psychological torment. In their natural habitat, elephants spend their days socializing, swimming, browsing, and playing. They would never choose to interact with humans without first being forced into submission.

By failing to inform tourists of the abuse behind elephant rides and interactions, TripSavvy is helping to drive demand for an egregiously cruel industry that uses violence and domination to force elephants into subservience. Urge the company to live up to its name and stop promoting tourist attractions that exploit elephants and other animals.

View Message +

Elspeth

Velten

Travel + Leisure & TripSavvy at Dotdash Meredith

Message to {contact_data~firstName} {contact_data~lastName}:

I'm disappointed that, despite overwhelming evidence of the suffering that elephants endure when they're used for tourist interactions, TripSavvy still fails to inform travelers about the cruelty inherent in direct elephant encounters.

Even if the abuse is carefully hidden, as it often is at illegitimate “sanctuaries,” all elephants used in direct-contact activities—including bathing, painting, rides, and shows—have been subjected to abuse until their spirits are broken to make them compliant. Elephants naturally avoid humans and don’t want to be forced into close contact with them.

By promoting facilities that allow direct contact with elephants, TripSavvy is sending the message that it supports animal exploitation. Please take action against elephant abuse by updating all TripSavvy's content related to elephant interactions with accurate information about the suffering these animals endure when they're used as tourist attractions.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}
{user_data~EMail Address}

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