Veterinary Charity SPANA Release New Guidelines To British Holidaymakers In Response To Animal Mistreatment Abroad Survey

Malnourished tourist cart horses in the resort of Yasmine Hammamet, Tunisia Animal mistreatment deters British tourists from foreign holiday destinations Over half of British adults (52%) say that if they saw an animal being mistreated abroad on holiday it would put them off visiting that country again. According to a new YouGov^* survey commissioned by international animal charity SPANA, over one in five British adults (22%) have seen animals being mistreated when on holiday overseas but over three-quarters of these holidaymakers (77%) made no attempt to report the most recent incident of mistreatment that they saw. The majority of these holidaymakers (71%) say they have seen animals used in the tourism industry mistreated. Of those who have seen animals mistreated abroad the most common animals people reported seeing mistreated were donkeys (45%) and horses (35%). The survey also found that 89% of British adults wouldn’t know how to go about reporting the mistreatment of animals abroad in any country. As millions of Britons prepare for their summer holidays, SPANA has launched an ethical animal tourism guide and is encouraging tourists to do their homework before going on activities abroad that involve animals. SPANA’s director of veterinary programmes Andy Stringer said: “We are very surprised by the survey’s findings. We expected that many tourists would have seen animals mistreated abroad, but we weren’t prepared for the fact that so many people haven’t reported animal mistreatment because they were unaware of how to go about it. “We want people to read our guide and make themselves aware of what they can do if they’re faced with an animal mistreatment situation abroad.” Jeremy Hulme, SPANA’s chief executive, said: “Tourism animals in many of the places SPANA works such as Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan are vital to the economy and many families’ livelihoods. “We don’t think it is right that people should be put off from visiting these countries. We want people to feel empowered to change animal welfare standards through choosing responsible animal tour providers and lobbying for change such as by reporting mistreatment to country tourism boards.” For more information about SPANA’s ethical animal tourism advice and how to report the mistreatment of animals abroad, visit: www.spana.org/tourism. *All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2054 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 19th - 21st June 2012. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

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