Ethical Animal Experiences: Bringing People Back to Nature

With ethical treatment becoming more sought after across all industries, could animal experiences with an ethical undertone be the solution to diversifying your land?

In recent years, animal rights have become an increasingly important topic within modern society. The rise in social media has brought countless exposés with it, revealing the drawbacks within the beauty, meat, and dairy industries. Because of this, consumers are becoming aware of these issues, and are making conscious choices to avoid them.

The Farm Business Innovation Show is all about supporting farmers and landowners with new ways to stay ahead of consumer trends, in order to profit from them. Very recently, Airbnb have set up their very own ethical animal experiences, where visitors can enjoy getting back to nature, without disturbing the animals.

With your FREE tickets to the show, you’ll be able to meet the companies who can help you to change the face of your business. Learn more about ethical animal experiences, what they are, and how you can set up your own, to draw in consumers with an ever-growing consciousness...

What is an Ethical Animal Experience?

There can be some confusion between ethical and unethical animal experiences. Anything which involves disturbing animals in their habitat, for example petting or riding them, or even taking their pictures, can class as “unethical”. Although petting zoos are certainly a popular choice for diversification, if you want to take a more trend-based approach to drawing in visitors, an ethical experience could work for you.

With the pressures of social media, and the growing need to disconnect, people are looking for new ways to reconnect with the outside world. By providing customers with the opportunity to become part of nature’s surroundings, you can harness this growing trend!

Some Examples of Ethical Animal Experiences in the UK

Across the world, ethical animal experiences have made for popular tourist attractions. For example, an amazing manor in the heart of Kenya welcomes visitors to join them for afternoon tea. Within the quaint surroundings, visitors are joined by giraffes peeping through the windows and stealing their food! Some more local examples include:

• Animal experiences Kent: Port Lympne Zoo offers amazing animal experiences, including a safari and a treetop hotel to get fully immersed in nature.


• Animal experiences Hampshire: take a bike ride around the New Forest, and get amongst the habitat of the wild horses.


• Animal experiences Yorkshire: Yorkshire Wildlife Park offers the opportunity to enjoy Britain’s first walking safari tour!


• Animal experiences south west: Camp Baboon, in Bristol, allows visitors to camp overnight alongside exotic animals, in a luxury glamping cabin.


• Animal experiences Scotland: experience amazing forest trails, filled with natural beings, at the National Nature Reserves’ wildlife tours.

Airbnb’s Ethical Animal Experiences for World Travellers

Partnering with World Animal Protection, Airbnb has recently launched their ethical animal experiences for world travellers. Across the world, animals are being joined by humans, in their natural habitats, engaging with them in ethical ways. Some absolutely amazing ethical animal experiences within their range include:

• Scotland: having a tea party with a farmer and his friendly sheep.


• Iceland: hiding within the shrubs, and staying on the lookout for beautiful Arctic foxes.


• York: a hedgehog wildlife safari, and a talk about these small, spiky beings.


• Spain: join an equine specialist as she takes care of horses.


• Thailand: go elephant watching, with a local, by trekking through the forest to find them.


• USA: a hike with wild mountain goats, who love the company of human trekkers.


• Hampshire: joining a group of alpacas for afternoon tea.

In all these cases, animals are not harmed, or taken out of their natural habitat. The only case where they are interfered with is when they’re being cared for, with experts taking the lead. In joining the animals in their natural habitats, whether it be by watching them from afar, or accompanying them for dinner or a walk, they have the opportunity to join you, if they wish to!

Rules apply here, namely that Airbnb doesn't allow experiences with wild animals, especially when they’re used for entertainment. This is with the exception of some research-based non-profit organisations. What’s more, the animals are provided with the optimum living quarters, with plenty of food and drink.

 

Keep up With the Trends…

At the Farm Business Innovation Show, we’ll be welcoming hundreds of exhibitors who could help you to set up your very ethical animal experience:

• Appetite Me: thinking of setting up your very own animal tea party? Then this company can help you with the restaurant and cafe side of things.


• Bluefield Houseboats: have an abundance of nature nearby your land? By building a houseboat on the edge of your river or lake, your visitors can enjoy a glamping experience at the heart of nature.


• Brilliant Trails: if you want to get visitors involved in your local heritage, and enjoy nature at its finest, investing in a trail through your forest is a great initiative. This way, visitors can get amongst nature, and even do some nature spotting while they’re there.


• Charles Taylor Trading Ltd: providing handcrafted garden furniture, perfect for sitting amongst nature and watching it go by.


• Track Systems: set up a track through your forest or land, and let your visitors ride alongside the natural world.

 

Get Back to Nature…

Your land offers an array of potentials, but it doesn’t have to be limited to completely out-of-the-box ideas. You can utilise your surrounding nature, and the animals already at your farm, to create exciting ethical animal experiences for children and adults alike.

If you want to meet and greet the exhibitors who could help you to take this idea, or any other idea for that matter, to new heights, then get your FREE tickets now. Join us, at the Farm Business Innovation Show, on 6th & 7th November at the NEC, Birmingham, for the largest event of its kind in Europe. Don’t miss out!