Our Mission

For every traveller to feel confident that their travel choices are helping – not harming – the animals they love.

Why It Matters

When done well, wildlife tourism can protect habitats, fund conservation and support local communities.

When done badly, it can exploit animals, damage ecosystems and unknowingly support poor welfare practices.

And unfortunately, not every unethical experience is obvious.

As wildlife tourism grows in popularity, so does welfare-washing.

This is when experiences market themselves as “ethical”, “sanctuary-based” or “conservation-focused” while actually still causing stress, harm or exploitation to animals through their practises.

By choosing more thoughtfully, travellers can become part of a greater solution – rather than unknowingly adding to the problem.

What We Aim To Do

✔️ Help travellers better understand what ethical wildlife tourism looks like.

✔️ Highlight responsible destinations, wildlife experiences and conservation-led travel opportunities around the world.

✔️ Provide practical guidance and resources so you can feel more confident about the wildlife experiences you choose.

Note from our Founder

I actually can’t remember a time when I haven’t loved animals.

Growing up, my best friend and I collected pennies in an old ice cream tub to one day open our own horse sanctuary. I also dreamed of becoming a marine biologist (though sadly my science grades weren’t quite up to scratch).

Fast forward to today, and my now 30-year-old self still adores all creatures big and small. And travel-obsessed, so seeing wildlife in the wild has become one of the most meaningful parts of my travel.

But with age came the ability to see things more clearly. The rose-tinted glasses slowly came off, and I began to realise just how difficult it had become to tell which wildlife experiences were genuinely ethical, and which were simply marketed that way.

And hands up – I’ve been unknowingly caught out a few times.

One was a visit to an “elephant sanctuary” in rural Bali. It claimed to rescue Sumatran elephants and even carried accreditation linked to one of my childhood heroes, Steve Irwin. Naturally, my usual meticulous research slipped.

But as soon as I arrived, I wanted to leave.

The elephants appeared well cared for, yet guests were still encouraged to ride and bathe them. When I declined our “complimentary” elephant ride to dinner, the receptionist looked at me as if I had three heads.

Another experience, advertised as a chance to “swim alongside wild dolphins in the ocean” in the Dominican Republic, turned out to involve captive dolphins in sea pens.

Both experiences left me feeling deeply uncomfortable and so morally conflicted. The dolphin experience especially made me feel sick to my stomach.

They completely shaped the way I viewed wildlife tourism, realising just how easy it is for well-meaning travellers to unknowingly support practices that cause stress, harm or exploitation to the animals they love.

It’s exactly why WHEREINTHEWILD was created.

The goal here is simple: to help other travellers feel more informed, confident and empowered when choosing wildlife experiences around the world. And to make ethical wildlife travel feel clearer, calmer and much easier to understand.

And while we’re still very new, I truly believe that more informed travellers have the power to shift the industry towards better welfare standards and more responsible wildlife tourism over time.

So what do you say, let’s do it together? 🤗

Thank you for your support. It genuinely means the world.
Jordie

Download our WILD Ethics Code graphic for your phone or to print.

So you can always make informed wildlife choices, with confidence.

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