Italy
Illegal animal trafficking – birds
It is quite common to see caged birds in restaurants and hotels in Italy. Many of these animals were captured from the wild and many others were imported from Asia. The bird trade causes serious problems for both conservation and animal welfare: most of the birds, in fact, die during transportation.
We strongly advise tourists not to take pictures with caged birds and, if possible, complain to the hotel staff for their cruel choice.
Aquariums
Aquariums are a very common attraction throughout Italy. As in other countries, these facilities receive a lot of criticism for keeping animals in unnatural conditions and for the stress that such life causes them. The Alghero Aquarium in Sardinia has been repeatedly denounced for keeping its animals in dirty facilities, deprived of environmental enrichment.
More information: http://turismo-responsable.com/en-s35
Palio di Siena
The Palio di Siena is the most famous horse race in Italy and attracts a large number of tourists from all over the world every year. It is a competition between the contradas of Siena (Tuscany) in the form of a medieval horse race and is organized twice a year (on July 2 and August 16). The Palio takes place in the central square of Siena, Piazza del Campo, and the winner is the first horse to finish three laps around the square.
It is a dangerous race and tragic accidents happen too often: on average, more than one horse dies every year, in most cases injured during the race and then shot away from the cameras.
The Palio route is very dangerous. In the past, the circuit was completed in approximately 3 minutes, however today, after some changes in order to make the race even more spectacular, it only takes 1 minute.
The horses used for this race are no longer the ones from Tuscany, which are robust but slower. Instead they use lighter and faster crossed breeds, which are not suited for running on the ground of the Palio di Siena.
From the year 2000, the Siena City Council has adopted new safety measures, such as the use of high PVC protections to protect the turns, and controlling the humidity and density of the race track's ground. Blood tests are also carried out on the horses, however this is a useless control measure since it is carried out by the same Palio organizers and not by the ASL (Local Sanitary Treasury).
Animal protectors in Italy have been fighting against the cruelty of Palio for years. However, it is a very difficult fight, as the tradition of this race is intrinsic in local and Italian culture in general and a large part of the society defends it.
More information: http://turismo-responsable.com/en-s73
Horse carriage rides
Romantic and nostalgic horse carriage rides are not so enjoyable for the animals, which are forced to work long hours, dragging heavy loads and often enduring extreme weather conditions.
Numerous animals spend all day exploited beyond their limits, while taking tourists through complicated terrain at bargain prices, often in the sun, with little shade, water and rest. These animals suffer from sunstrokes, wounds, beatings and injuries as a result of these "tourist experiences" and the economic benefit that their owners can gain from these activities is always above their animals´ welfare.
Horse carriages can have accidents with other vehicles, especially in cities with heavy traffic. The animals are usually trotting, which is too high a speed, as if it stops suddenly the carriage could crash into the animal. Moreover, the little rest that the animals get is usually in blocks located in the center of the city and, often, in inappropriate conditions.
More information: http://turismo-responsable.com/en-s24
Fortune-telling parrots
The practice of “astrologist parrots” or “fortune-telling parrots” involves the use of parrots trained to choose Tarot cards that will help predict the future of the clients of fortune tellers, especially that related to love, marriage and work.
The training of these animals involves mistreatment, and just like in the case of birds used for shows, they are trained through violence and food deprivation. Being neophobic animals, which are afraid of new things and escape by flying away, they are deprived of the ability to fly through pinioning - the amputation of part of their wings.
More information: http://turismo-responsable.com/en-s106
Dolphinariums
In this country you can also find centers which keep cetaceans (dolphins, killer whales or beluga whales) in captivity. Science has shown that these intelligent animals suffer greatly in the limiting conditions of dolphinariums and their stress levels and mortality rates are very high.
The training of these animals for circus shows where they perform totally unnatural behaviors, and which can harm them physically, is achieved through keeping the animals in a permanent state of hunger so that they act in exchange for a piece of dead fish.
Condemned by their facial structure, which resembles a human smile, these highly social animals, which would swim long distances and dive into great depths in the wild, are used to perform stunts in small concrete tanks. Many of the animals are taken from the wild.
For more information: http://sosdelfines.org/
Recommended projects and rescue centers:
Centro Tutela e Ricerca Fauna Esotica e Selvatica
Italian Horse Protection Onlus (IHP)
Animal protection entities in Italy
