AfA urges TripAdvisor to remove cruel canned hunting from it’s site

(image: Cikidang Resort Facebook)

Cikidang Plantation Estate, Resort Hotel, Golf & Country Club in Indonesia is a resort which offers bloodsports to it’s visitors. Known as “canned hunting”, these are experiences which leave animals no chance of escape, being as they are in a large, fenced in enclosure.

To learn more about it, watch the video below:

This destination is endorsed by the TripAdvisor website, meaning that TripAdvisor is profiting from this suffering. This is a clear contradiction to the company’s animal welfare policy which states that:

“TripAdvisor and its subsidiaries will not sell tickets to any attraction that is found to be in breach of the TripAdvisor listing policy as it relates to the harming or killing of animals. ” 

This policy stipulates that TripAdvisor does not list attractions where the primary purpose of the business includes …. the harming or killing of any captive animal (such as bloodsport attractions)”

AfA have come together as a coalition and authored a letter addressed to senior policy markers at TripAdvisor to implore them to remove this ‘attraction’ from it’s site as well as to review how they police and enforce their otherwise meaningless policy. This is not the first time we have had to highlight this failure to TripAdvisor.

Read our recent letter in full HERE. It is signed by 199 global expert animal welfare organisations and represents the feelings of the many thousands of supporters they represent around the world.

(image: Cikidang Resort Facebook)

Two-pronged approach

As we have said before, AfA believes that animals NEED market leaders like TripAdvisor to stand up for them, and to educate tourists that it is NOT ok to exploit animals for fun. Other similar companies, as well as the tour operators themselves,  will begin to see that animal exploitation does not equal profit, and eventually follow suit, leading to a much needed long term sea-change.

Our friends at Flight: Protecting Indonesia’s Birds are with us on this issue, but taking a different approach – they would like to see the hunting resort closed all together and have been putting pressure on their local govt. to consider this. Recently they have been getting out in the streets and standing up for what they feel is right:

“Today, we held a demonstration in front of the Sukabumi Regent office, asking management to close the Cikidang Hunting Resort. We were met by the Head of the Office of National Unity and Community Protection, Sukabumi Regency, Mr Dodi. He promised to follow up on our demands.”