Tunisia
Camel rides
Camel excursions are an important business for Tunisian locals and perhaps the only way to appreciate the Sahara desert. Most of them can be easily hired in the city of Douz, which is generally referred to as the “gateway to the Sahara.” Camels are considered as cargo animals and their physical condition can vary considerably depending on the care they receive from their owners. Before hiring a tour, we advise tourists to check the condition of the animals and choose providers that take good care of their animals.
More information: http://turismo-responsable.com/en-s30
National parks
The Sidi Toui National Park is located in the north of the country, on the border of the Sahara. There are many different species to see, including the desert fox, the gazelle and the wildcat. The park also has fossils of fish, reptiles and several rare species. The park is accessed through the city of Ben Guerdane, near the border with Libya.
More information: http://turismo-responsable.com/en-s40-avistamientos
Conservation
The addax, belonging to the family of African antelopes, is one of the rarest and most endangered species on Earth today. Small groups live and move in the protected areas of Tunisia and the survival of their species depends on the implementation of urgent conservation measures. This animal has disappeared in many countries due to hunting and in recent years there have been cases of tourists chasing these animals in jeeps.
Zoos
There are around 30,000 zoos worldwide that are part of an industry in which millions of wild animals are literally on display. Their living conditions in most cases are poor, and Tunisian zoos are especially worrying as they do not offer the animals the necessary conditions for developing their basic natural physical, psychological and social behaviors.
The animals suffer due to overcrowding and lack of space, stimuli, privacy, shelter and in many cases even food, also they often have to endure extreme weather conditions as well as visual and physical contact with humans. The animal enclosures lack environmental enrichment and in most facilities the animals carry out stereotyped and anti-natural behaviors such as apathy, self-mutilation, excessive cleaning, eating disorders, repetitive balancing, etc.
In short, we are talking about captivity centers where animals are kept in really poor conditions and tourists should avoid visiting them.
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/
Here is a list of local NGOs that can be contacted in case you want to make a donation, a complaint or find an animal that needs help in Tunisia:
