Halal Tourism, Wildlife conservation and Animal Welfare

With the growth of the Halal travel market, varying terminology and definitions have been used to refer to either the total Halal travel market or its sub-areas. Terms such as Halal Tourism, Muslim Friendly Travel, and Halal travel are often widely used in the media and advertising to create a niche market. The terms used have had a varying focus, based on who is using the term and in which context.

Halal tourism is used to refer to the tourism industry which caters to the faith-based needs of Muslim travellers. The level of Muslim-friendly services can vary. Other terms used to refer to this area of the industry are Muslim or Halal travel, Muslim or Halal tourism, Islamic Travel, Sahriah Tourism or Ziyarah Tourism.

However, none of them have a universally understood definition, in some instances this differs.  These tourism subcategories as a whole are geared towards Muslim families who abide by the rules of Islam. The hotels in such destinations do not serve alcohol, have separate swimming pools and spa facilities for men and women, serve only halal foods, and have prayer facilities in-room and in a common hall in order to attract those who follow the faith and/ or may be bothered about the separation of these facilities.

When booking a holidays as Halal tourism/ Muslim friendly tour which has includes an animal attraction we should also take into account any animal or wildlife related elements of the tour, what our faith teaches us about this and how our visitation to this excursion may have an impact on Allah’s other creations, Additionally If you are funding something which is having a negative effect on Allah’s creations.

I particular here I mean, elephant rides, camel rides, holding and socialising with wild animals, safari tours, swimming with Dolphins- amongst others (the ideas for these are changing daily).

There are many debates and arguments about visitation to these excursions. Elephant, camel rides, holding wild animals and swimming with Dolphins- generally these animals are being kept in a non- natural environment or have been bred in captivity and imprinted on humans. In most cases have had their behaviour adjusted or maybe even questionable training methods used to make them behave in order to provide this entertainment. Their welfare and natural behaviour needs are not being catered too correctly.

When we look at these industries as a whole, at the end of the day only a small portion of your money is going to the animal to make sure it is looked after the rest is for human benefit. Although there are places who use the attractions to educate the public about conservation, it seems strange to allow such things in the name of education, but it is about attracting the customers to learn and raise awareness about the importance of conservation. It is sad to think that potentially as soon as our next generation may only see the majority of animals in a zoo because they are extinct in the wild.

Two very simple ways to determine where the true intent of the establishment lies are to examine the environment of the animals and the level of interaction with the public that is promoted or allowed. Right off- anything with a theme park or “thrill” feeling to it probably is not functioning for the wellbeing of the animals in their care, but more likely operating with the primary purpose of profit.

Any wildlife experience that is selling interaction with animals likely does not have their best interests at heart, the animal is merely the product. This can include encounters such as elephant and camel rides, tiger petting, and swimming with captive dolphins. These animals are constantly working and training most of the day, in a sense this could be classed as “enrichment” for them, but it is also not natural and training methods may be questionable. These animals are not behaving naturally, and the real question is what has been done to them to make them perform in this unnatural fashion.

Depending on the law/ legislation in the country, in a lot of cases the animal has suffered horrendous treatment, typically beatings and punishments as a form of “training,”. Animals can be trained to “perform” certain behaviour through methods such as operant condition which is a combination of reward and punishment but never to the extent of cruelty and usually takes time. In the case of large carnivorous cats allowing the public to cuddle them, they will undergo occasional drugging to ensure continued docile behaviour.

Lastly, talking to the staff will give you an insight into their level of knowledge and training into how to keep animals/ exotics and their welfare needs. They should be able to tell you all about the animal and its natural behaviour, where they came from and who the establishment is doing to conserve the species not just make money.

With regard to safaris/ car or walking. Wildlife is effected by Road Traffic Accidents – you see it everyday with local wildlife splatted on the motorways, safari’s are no different these animals are not raised to have cars running through their ranges. Safari’s can cause disruption of habitat to build roads or facilities for tourists, noise levels and the animals become used to humans.

Tourism can disrupt the feeding and breeding patterns of wildlife due to disturbances in routine and their environment. Tourists move too close to animals with the aim of viewing and taking photographs, the animals become aware of the presence of humans and cannot continue with their routine activities. Tourism can potentially put enormous stress on local land use, and can lead to soil erosion, increased pollution, natural habitat loss creating more pressure on endangered species.

How can we improve Halal tourism which involves animal attractions?

Education of these issues and the advertisement of Halal tourism to promotes Ecotourism. Ecotourism provides incentives to enhance biodiversity and preserve natural resources. Ecotourism can help to fight poverty and empower local indigenous people by providing locals with a source of income through employment opportunity. One of the most important conservation benefits provided by wildlife tourism occurs when it provides an economic incentive for maintaining or restoring natural habitats and improving the lives of others, qualities Islam installs in us as Muslims, as well as caring for animal welfare and how our desires affect Allah’s other creations.

With the right excursions Muslim tourists can increase their awareness of the importance of conservation, Allah’s other creations, how we all need to live in harmony together and learn how they can make a difference. Moreover, they can go home and share their newfound knowledge and passion with others.

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