Rickshaw Wildlife Travel Guide

Here, at Rickshaw Travel, we believe that wild animals should have the freedom to live a natural life, in their own habitat, without being harmed or exploited. Seeing animals on your travels can be a real highlight, but their well-being should always come first. We only support experiences that prioritise animal welfare and benefit the local communities who live alongside them.

We are so lucky to be able to connect our travellers with incredible wildlife experiences and believe its our responsibility to make sure they’re meaningful, bringing you closer to nature, while making sure the animals are protected, respected and free to live their lives without exploitation. We have put these guidelines together to help our travellers feel confident making good choices around wildlife, and to share what they’ve learned with others. When more people travel responsibly, it makes a real difference for animals, local communities and the natural world we all share.

See our Wildlife Guidelines here.

This policy sets out how we assess, choose, and manage all activities involving animals across our trips. It applies to everything we do from a jeep safari in Africa to a turtle-watching walk in Costa Rica.

View our wildlife policy here.

We have put together six simple principles which we stand by:

1. No exploitation: We never offer or support any activity that causes pain, fear, or unnatural behaviour in animals.
2. Wild means wild: Wild animals belong in the wild. We do not support direct contact, feeding, or staged interactions unless they take place within a welfare-led environment where animals are never forced to participate.
3. Respect and distance: The best wildlife experiences happen at a respectful distance, led by trained local guides who understand animal behaviour.
4. Positive impact: Tourism should help protect nature, not damage it. We prioritise partners and projects that directly support conservation and local communities.
5. Transparency: We’re open about what we offer, how it’s assessed, and why we say ‘no’ to certain experiences.
6. Continuous improvement: As research and standards evolve, so will our policy. We regularly review activities and train our teams and partners.
   

Some activities are never acceptable. We will not offer, promote, or book:

– Riding, walking, bathing or swimming with captive wild animals. 

– Animal performances or shows, including tricks or circus acts.

– Any experience involving drugged, chained, caged, or baited animals for entertainment or selfies.

– Captive breeding, trade, or photo opportunities with baby wild animals.

– Any attraction where animals are kept in poor conditions or for entertainment rather than genuine rescue, rehabilitation, or conservation.

In Japan, we don’t promote visits to the Jigokudani Monkey Park due to ongoing animal welfare concerns. While the snow monkey park was originally created to reduce conflict between macaques and local farmers, ongoing concerns around feeding, crowding and efforts to keep monkeys close to the hot springs raise questions about animal welfare. Being surrounded by crowds everyday and relying on food given by humans disrupts their natural behaviour and how the monkeys interact with each other. If you choose to visit independently, we encourage you to remain mindful of animal welfare, raise concerns directly with the centre, and share honest reviews online to help support better standards.

Some experiences can be ethical when well-managed and guided by experts. These may include:

– Wildlife watching in natural environments, at a safe distance and under clear viewing guidelines.

– Visits to accredited sanctuaries or rescue centres where animals cannot be released but are cared for in spacious, species-appropriate environments.

– Marine wildlife encounters, such as swimming with wild dolphins, snorkelling or diving near coral reefs, under strict “no-touch, no-feed” principles and the animals are free to come and go.

– Guided nature walks, birdwatching, or safaris that follow local conservation rules and respect breeding seasons, habitats, and quiet zones.

We work closely with our local partners to make sure these activities follow recognised welfare and conservation standards, with limits on group sizes, time spent near animals, and visitor behaviour.

All our local partners must share our commitment to protecting animals and the environment. Before including a wildlife activity in our trips, we check:

– Animal welfare standards: housing, diet, medical care, and behaviour.

– Conservation: whether the activity supports local protection efforts.

– Community benefit: whether nearby communities gain fair economic benefit and have a voice in decision-making.

– Legal compliance: that all necessary permits, licences, and local laws are in place.

We include these expectations in our supplier contracts and may suspend or remove any partner that fails to meet them.

Responsible wildlife travel starts with awareness. Before each trip, we share practical tips with travellers on how to behave around animals, such as:

– Keep a safe distance and never try to touch or feed wild animals.

– Follow your guide’s instructions and keep noise to a minimum.

– Avoid flash photography or drones near wildlife.

– Choose souvenirs and products that don’t exploit animals or fragile ecosystems.

We want every wildlife encounter to be respectful and meaningful, with the animal’s well-being at the heart of the experience.

We regularly review all of our wildlife activities, gathering feedback from our partners, travellers, and conservation experts. Activities that no longer meet our standards will be adapted or removed.

We monitor progress through:

– Partner audits and welfare checklists

– Traveller feedback

– Site visits and ongoing dialogue with local conservation groups

Each year, we’ll update our policy to reflect new research, industry developments, and feedback from our community.

We take animal welfare concerns seriously. If our travellers see or experience anything that appears to harm or distress animals during their trip, we ask them to report it immediately to our local partners or us here at Rickshaw. We’ll investigate and take whatever action is needed to ensure the animals are no longer at risk.

While on your trip, if you see anything that doesn’t seem right, such as poor living conditions, forced performances or animals in distress, you can contact the organisation involved directly, and share feedback through honest online reviews. We also recommend you report it online through Born Free’s ‘Raise the Red Flag’ – an international wildlife charity working to protect wild animals, challenge exploitation, and expose poor welfare in captivity. Speaking up helps to improve standards, and create real, positive change.

We know that tourism has the power to help protect wildlife by creating value for conservation and local communities. By applying this framework, and by being honest about what’s acceptable and what’s not, we aim to keep travel a force for good.

Our goal is simple: to make sure every animal encounter connected to Rickshaw Travel is ethical, meaningful, and part of a positive future for wildlife.

See the Rickshaw Travel Wildlife Policy here.