Great news for animals :) STA Travel has stopped booking tours that include THIS;

THIS;

OR THIS:

Yep! STA, a major international travel agent for students and young people, has ditched any tours that go to Tiger Temple, SeaWorld (US) or which include elephant rides. Why? Because animals should be like this;

this;

and this:

Big cats, elephants and orcas have all been known to suffer when kept in captivity and denied a natural environment. An investigation into Tiger Temple revealed that tigers were kept in small cages for 20 hours a day with practically nothing to do. These crappy living conditions meant that many of the tigers suffered severe behavioural problems such as pacing back and forth and chewing their own paws :(

The life of an elephant kept for tourist rides is just as cruel. Elephants in the wild may walk over 40km a day and will form life-long bonds. But captive elephants will be chained for many hours a day and often deprived of social contact with other elephants.

And as for SeaWorld in the US, well imagine living your entire life in a bathtub and you might get an idea of what it's like for an orca in captivity. (I think Jason Biggs expresses his thoughts about this better than I could.) So it probably won't come as a surprise to hear that animals in marine parks can suffer from stress and depression living in captivity. Just recently SeaWorld in Orlando was busted giving anti-anxiety drugs to whales.

Sooooooo... a HUGE high-five to STA Travel for taking a stand for animals and refusing to take part in this cruelty any longer :) This will make a WORLD of difference for animals. You can let STA Travel know how awesome you think they are for leading the way in ethical tourism by leaving a message on their Facebook page.

Earlier this year, Intrepid Travel also took a stance for animals by taking elephant rides off their travel itinerary :) Want to see other travel companies getting on board the responsible tourism for animals train? Click here to get in touch with Flight Centre today and ask them to cut cruelty from their travel itinerary too!

And if you're an animal lover like me you might be wondering how you can get up close and personal with animals without having to take their freedoms away. Click here for 5 ways to interact with animals without cages. Or leave a suggestion of your own in the comments :)