Most NL residents want to ban using wild animals for shows

Activities with wild animals in captivity should no longer be offered by tour operators, say three-quarters of Dutch people in a survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of World Animal Protection. The animal protection organization is therefore calling on political parties to include a ban on entertainment with wild animals in their election programs.

According to the survey, Dutch people consider activities such as riding an elephant or taking a selfie with a tiger to be outmoded. About 80 percent of respondents would rather see animals in the wild than in captivity. Many respondents also believe that these tourist activities are bad for animal welfare.

Dirk-Jan Verdonk, director of World Animal Protection Netherlands, is pleased that more and more people are concerned about the living conditions of wild animals and want to do more to ensure their freedom. “If you keep wild animals in captivity, it is bad for their well-being,” he told RTL News.

“Tour operators should be critical of the activities they sell, but this ailing system is maintained by more institutions than just the operators,” says Verdonk. A policy change is needed to end the exploitation of wildlife for commercial purposes.”

Still, 46 percent of respondents said they would still like to attend a wildlife activity. The most popular are swimming with dolphins, releasing turtles, and dolphin and orca shows. However, the animal protection organization warns about the animal suffering behind these activities. For example, according to World Animal Protection, dolphins and orcas are kept in tanks that are far too small, and tigers are chained up for their entire lives.