Sun, sea, family and road trips are about to become the theme for many of us gearing up for Dezemba. Naturally, ‘animal experiences’ make their way into the greater picture, too, especially in families with kiddies who want to pet and touch all the quacks, oinks, and moos.
South Africa (04 December 2025) – Where will December take you and the fam?
You might be spotting wildlife on a game drive in the bush, visiting SA’s coastal towns where seals and penguins haul out and waddle, or just choosing activities that feel ‘fun’ and ‘different’ while enjoying your PTO.
But as the festive season properly sets in, FOUR PAWS South Africa is reminding holidaymakers that some holiday attractions that look harmless at first glance can actually cause and promote real harm behind the scenes, and that a few small choices can make the season kinder for animals everywhere.
A selfie with a lion cub, riding an elephant, or swimming with dolphins might seem like bucket list activities, but they’re actually rooted in cruelty. To make wild animals perform tricks or interact with tourists, they are often kept in inappropriate conditions where they endure physical and psychological abuse.
“What looks like fun for us often means a lifetime of suffering for the animal,” says Fiona Miles, Director of FOUR PAWS South Africa. “We strongly encourage travellers to avoid any activity that involves touching, feeding, riding or taking selfies with wild animals. True sanctuaries never allow direct interaction, animals should only be observed from a safe distance in their natural habitat and in true sanctuaries,” explains Miles.
To protect animals and observe them in a safe way, FOUR PAWS recommends these ten tips to enjoy your holiday both here, and abroad, without supporting animal cruelty or unintentionally harming wildlife.
1. Enjoy animals in the wild: Observe wildlife in their natural habitat from a safe distance. Avoid tour operators or providers who offer trophy hunting.
2. Just look, don’t touch: Holding or petting wild animals is never kind, despite your best intentions.
3. No feeding policy: Feeding wild animals harms their ability to find food naturally and teaches them to get dangerously close to humans. This can endanger both animals and people.
4. Avoid animal selfies: Don’t support businesses charging for photos with animals. Your perfect photo comes with life-long suffering for them. Big cats are often heavily sedated to pose with tourists and spend their life suffering in captivity.
5. Only visit true sanctuaries: Do your research before your visit. At true sanctuaries, animal welfare comes first and no direct interaction between animals and visitors is allowed. If the place offers selfies, petting, feeding, animal shows or is involved in breeding and trade, all alarm bells should be ringing.
6. Say no to animal rides: Avoid activities like elephant, camel, donkey, and horse rides. They often endure harsh training and poor living conditions with little enrichment, water and rest.
7. Skip animal shows: Performances involving wild animals, such as circuses or marine parks, are animal cruelty and cause immense suffering due to inappropriate keeping conditions and forced unnatural behaviour.
8. Avoid souvenirs made from animals: Don’t buy trinkets or other products made of animal parts (like exotic leather, tortoise shell, ivory, corals, fur, etc.). Purchasing such products encourages poaching animals from the wild and spurs the extinction of endangered species.
9. Steer clear of exotic dishes: Avoid restaurants and street vendors offering dog or cat meat, or endangered species, such as shark fins. These animals endure cruel treatment to end up on your plate.
10. Stay at a safe distance: Be aware that many strays and wild animals are fearful of humans and can attack when approached, so keep your distance for your own safety, as the transmission of rabies and other diseases is a possible risk.
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