There is a long history of the involvement of animals for tourism
purposes in circuses, zoos, fairs, ecotourism and wildlife tourism,
using animals as the prime focus of their experience. The wave of
responsibility and sustainability that currently permeates the tourism
field is catalyzing deeper moral questions about equity, equality,
rights, justice, and values in regards to what constitutes acceptable
tourism practice.
Tourism and Animal Ethics represents a required extension of the
sustainability imperative and environmental theory by providing a
critical account of the role that animals play in tourism. This book
explores the rich history of animal ethics research that lies outside
the field of tourism for the purpose of providing greater theoretical,
empirical and conceptual guidance inside the field. It examines
historical and current practices of the use of animals in the tourism
industry from both in situ to ex situ consumption and production
perspectives, identifying a range of ethical issues associated with such
use. This detailed examination of current animal ethics theories will be
instrumental in determining the rightness or wrongness of these
practices, and hence allow tourism practitioners and theorists to think
about these issues and practices in a different light, minimizing the
impact that the industry has on animals.
This text provides an interdisciplinary overview of the moral issues
related to the use of animals in tourism, and contains cutting edge
research and boxed international case studies throughout. It will appeal
to students, academics and researchers interested in Tourism Ethics,
Sustainable Tourism and Wildlife Tourism.
