Learn how tour operators can manage animal-welfare risks, screen suppliers, train staff, document controls, and align tourism activities with responsible practice.
Animal-related experiences can be memorable, but popularity is not proof of good welfare. A tour operator may influence an animal’s housing, transport, working hours, handling, contact with visitors, and exposure to noise. It also influences which suppliers receive bookings and which practices become commercially attractive.
Travelife is designed for tour operators and travel companies. Its model combines learning, management, implementation, supply-chain engagement, and independent assessment. 2 This makes animal welfare a business-process issue, not only an attraction-level issue.
What does animal welfare mean in tourism?
Animal welfare describes an animal’s physical and mental condition during keeping, transport, work, display, care, and interaction with people. A legal licence matters, but it does not answer every welfare question. Operators should also ask whether animals have suitable food and water, rest, shelter, veterinary care, appropriate social conditions, and the ability to avoid unnecessary contact.
Welfare and conservation overlap but are not interchangeable. A conservation claim does not automatically demonstrate that individual animals are being cared for appropriately.
Clarifying criterion 7.6 and the Travelife 2025 wording
The version of the Travelife Partner Standard reviewed for this article labels 7.6 as “No excessive negative impact activities.” It separately lists 7.7 Animal Welfare, 7.8 Wildlife harvesting, and 7.9 Wildlife interactions. In that version, 7.6 addresses harmful activities broadly, while the later criteria provide more specific animal-related controls. 1
If your audit matrix calls animal welfare “criterion 7.6,” confirm the applicable edition, scheme, and contractual scope. Do not copy a criterion number from one edition into another without checking the source document.
Where do the risks occur?
Risks may arise in captive attractions, animal performances, riding, carriage work, photo opportunities, feeding, swimming activities, wildlife watching, fishing, transport, souvenirs, and visits marketed as rescue or conservation.
Common warning signs include forced handling, uncontrolled feeding, overcrowding, lack of retreat space, long working periods, poor transport conditions, close pursuit of wild animals, and marketing that turns distress into entertainment. ABTA’s global guidance distinguishes unacceptable practices from activities that may be offered only when welfare and visitor-safety risks are properly managed. 4
Supplier due diligence and controls
Before listing an activity, identify the species, location, supplier, operating model, and contact level. Request appropriate evidence such as licences, legal registration, species and source information, care procedures, veterinary arrangements, transport controls, visitor rules, capacity limits, emergency contacts, and incident records.
Do not treat one certificate, a polished website, or the word “sanctuary” as conclusive proof. Evidence should match the risk. A remote wildlife-viewing trip and a close-contact captive attraction should not receive the same screening form.
Put the control into the contract. Require compliance with applicable law and the operator’s animal-welfare policy; prohibit unapproved changes; require prompt incident reporting; set corrective-action deadlines; and reserve the right to suspend or terminate sales when serious risks are not controlled.
A practical implementation process
Map the portfolio. List every product and supplier involving animals, including activities that are optional or sold locally.
Classify risk. Give closer scrutiny to wild species, close contact, riding, performances, transport, and threatened species.
Approve or reject. Approve only when the evidence and safeguards are proportionate to the risk. Use conditional approval when a dated corrective action is realistic and safe.
Brief customers. Explain distance, noise, feeding, photography, touching, riding, and reporting rules before the activity starts.
Train staff. Give guides authority to stop an interaction, move guests away, and escalate concerns.
Monitor and improve. Review complaints, incidents, supplier evidence, and corrective actions at defined intervals.
GSTC’s Roundtable for Animal Welfare in Tourism is developing practical, science-based guidance for the tourism context. Until such guidance is final and applicable to a particular scheme, businesses should maintain their own clear, documented controls. 3
Staff responsibilities
Product teams decide whether an activity belongs in the portfolio. Procurement checks evidence and contract conditions. Sustainability staff maintain the risk framework and records. Guides manage guest behaviour and report concerns. Customer-care staff log complaints without promising a conclusion before verification.
Training is an operational control. It is not a substitute for a permit, a veterinary decision, or a legal obligation. A short scenario exercise can be more useful than a generic presentation: for example, what should a guide do when a guest insists on holding an animal or when a supplier brings an animal into a crowded photo area?
Evidence for an audit or internal review
Maintain the policy, product inventory, risk assessments, supplier questionnaires, permits or verification records, contracts, staff training logs, customer briefings, inspection notes, complaints, incident reports, corrective actions, and approval decisions. Each record should show its date, owner, status, and next review date.
A photograph alone is weak evidence. Auditors and managers need to see how a decision was made, what was required of the supplier, and what happened when performance was not adequate.
Example: a claimed rescue centre
A supplier markets close contact with rescued wildlife but cannot provide reliable source records, care procedures, or visitor limits. The operator should pause the product rather than rely on the label. It can request evidence, arrange a proportionate assessment, or replace the activity with a non-invasive observation experience. If the evidence remains insufficient, the responsible decision is not to sell it.
Frequently asked questions
Does a legal licence prove good welfare?
No. A licence may demonstrate one legal condition, but it does not replace a welfare assessment, visitor-safety review, or supplier monitoring.
Should all animal tourism be banned?
Not necessarily. The practical objective is to avoid harmful activities, control acceptable activities, favour non-invasive observation where appropriate, and comply with applicable law.
Is The Code an animal-welfare standard?
No. ECPAT’s The Code is a voluntary child-protection initiative focused on preventing the sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism. Its six criteria cover policy, training, contracts, customer information, stakeholder engagement, and reporting. 5
What should operators do about Vietnamese law in 2025?
Start with the official Law on Animal Husbandry No. 32/2018/QH14 and Decree No. 13/2020/ND-CP, then check species-specific wildlife, veterinary, forestry, protected-area, transport, and local requirements. Administrative responsibilities and implementing instruments may change, so verify the current text and competent authority before relying on a legal conclusion.
Is this article legal or veterinary advice?
No. It is training and information content. The applicable Travelife edition, current Vietnamese legislation, local permits, and professional veterinary advice should be checked for each activity.
Contact us for Animal Welfare in Sustainable Tourism consulting for Tour Operators in Vietnam.
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