Most reputable tourist companies in South Africa are registered with SATSA otherwise known as the South African Tourism Services Association, a body which regulates inbound tourism and ensures that its members are compliant with the relevant rules and regulations which govern the industry.
Although SATSA does have a number of guidelines which its members are encouraged to follow, the organisation recognises the fact that tourist facilities, companies and attractions are independent to make their own decisions.
The Animal Interaction Charter guideline provides vital information which companies involved in the tourism value chain can use to select the appropriate animal interaction products from within South Africa’s immense tourism sector. SATSA is committed to following an ethical approach and its animal interaction guideline ensures that those associated with SATSA can operate safely on the right side of the ethics and only consider working with those companies deemed to be acceptable based on the criteria of the guideline.
SATSA is also committed to being a part of the effort to raise awareness concerning the various practices surrounding animal interactions. This is done through encouraging introspection and dialogue to determine commercial decisions to encourage ethical choices and the right kinds of transformations within the industry.
The association also recognises that their stance is an important one that needs to be taken if the lives of wildlife can be improved and to ensure conservation of wildlife over the long term. SATSA also hopes to position South Africa as the ethical tourism destination of choice.
It is the responsibility of the tourism industry to support ethical tourism in order to move South Africa forward in the responsible and sustainable tourism practices.
More about the Animal Interaction Charter
The charter is the result of an intensive grassroots research effort which aimed to find out the extent to which wildlife is affected by interactions and what could be done to make tourism more ethically focused.
As a result, various wildlife interactions will be deemed unacceptable, with the charter coming into effect in 2020. Such activities which include interactions such as feeding or walking with infant wild animals, performing animals, walking alongside predators, riding wild animals such as elephants, and interacting with marine animals and predators, will all be banned as they are considered unacceptable in the charter.
SATSA has said that the extent to which the local tourism sector and associated companies, as well as the local authorities, adopt their guidelines will eventually determine the fate of the local industry as well as the various spinoffs that are affected by the charter.
