Revealed: The Gap Between Tripadvisor's Animal Welfare Policy and Practice

Tripadvisor presents itself as a global leader in ethical tourism, assuring millions of travellers that it is committed to animal welfare. Their official policy makes a clear promise: “will not sell tickets to, or generate revenue from, specific experiences where captive wild or endangered animals are forced to perform demeaning tricks or other unnatural behaviours”. Like other tourism companies, Tripadvisor understands that building their marketing and promotions around evolved, ethical and progressive consumer expectations and choices is good business.

Our Australian-first investigation into Uluru Camel Tours revealed disturbing evidence of animal mistreatment. What we found directly contradicts Tripadvisor's own animal welfare guidelines—guidelines they claim to enforce rigorously. Despite our footage and whistleblower statements about Uluru Camel Tours, Tripadvisor still has Uluru Camel Tours listed as “meeting animal welfare guidelines”.

Animal Liberation contacted Tripadvisor in writing on multiple occasions with clear evidence of its policy violations. Tripadvisor's response was slow and ultimately inadequate. Despite ongoing correspondence, their team failed to take meaningful action or provide a satisfactory explanation for why this venue continues to display a “Meets animal welfare guidelines” badge.

While Tripadvisor is no longer selling tickets directly to UCT, they continue to list and display UCT with its animal welfare badge intact. Tourists, trusting Tripadvisor's endorsement, are still being directed to this business. There remains an obvious gap between Tripadvisor’s animal welfare policy and meaningful action.