German travel association warns against elephant contact attractions

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A week after TripAdvisor and Viator cease ticket sales to hundreds of wildlife entertainment venues worldwide, German travel trade body DRV has also announced to its members not to offer direct elephant contact experiences to their clients.

DRV has published information to help its members identify such attractions as well in a bid to steer them towards more elephant-friendly alternatives.

Kathleen Frech, World Animal Protection’s European campaigner based in Germany, and who assisted DRV on its guidance, said: “Putting the welfare of elephants first when advising its members about what elephant excursions to offer is a bold step.

“DRV’s information is clear and simple to action. It has the power to change norms among German travel operators and travel agents, and in turn create solid, lasting positive change to the lives of thousands of elephants put to work in the tourism industry all over the world.”

DRV’s 4,000 members represents 85 per cent of the German travel industry, including operators such as TUI, DER Touristik and Thomas Cook AG.

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