Mexico
Stray animals
Mexico has a large number of stray animals, which often live in very poor conditions. The population of stray cats and dogs is usually controlled through cruel and unregulated mass slaughter. In San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, for example, it has come to the point where citizens get paid 20$ for killing street animals. If you encounter such animals, you can help them by giving them some food and water, but avoiding close interaction with them as rabies is still widespread throughout the country.
More information.
Cockfights
Unfortunately, cockfights, or "palenques" as they are called locally, are legal in some parts of Mexico, such as in the state of Nayarit, and are carried out illegally in the rest of the country. Guides also encourage tourists to attend cockfights, most likely because they are on commission. A typical cockfight consists of about 30 fights. More information on this topic.
Bull fights and bullfighting festivals
Mexico undoubtedly has the most prolific bullfighting industry in the world, with at least 500 bullrings, such as the biggest one in the world, “La Monumental” in Mexico City, which has a capacity of 42,000 people. Spectators are sometimes even offered to buy and consume the testicles of bulls killed in the fight..
A very popular festivity is celebrated each year on February 1 in Tlacotalpan, a city in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The bulls are forced to swallow liquor, tied to boats and dragged along the river before releasing them in the streets. The participants then chase, beat and stab the terrified animals with bats and knives.
This continues for hours while drunken residents throw bricks and garbage at the animals, kick and punch them, and cut off their ears. The surviving bulls are released back to the field.
For more information.
Rodeos
The rodeo is a traditional activity practiced mostly in the United States and Mexico. The goal is to mount and do specific exercises on wild horses or bulls. There are several types of rodeos; they can consist of tying the animals, fighting with them or jumping on them and trying to stay on top. All these events can cause serious injuries to the animals involved. Electric batons, burning ointments and whips are often used to irritate and enrage the animals before the show.
More information.
Swimming with dolphins
Mexico has a large number of dolphinariums (Only in Quintana Roo there are 10 of them) and “swimming with dolphins” activities. Both captivity and interactions with people are seriously damaging to these animals and, as evidenced by the various accidents that have occurred over the years, forced contact with dolphins can also be dangerous for people. More information: sosdelfines; turismo-responsable.
In this country there are also hotels that keep dolphins in captivity within their facilities. One of the latest to follow this sad fashion was the Barceló Maya Beach resort, which after having denied its intentions for months, in March 2014 received an avalanche of criticism from individuals and professionals in the sector for its decision to keep 5 dolphins in a small pool. More information.
Photos with wild animals
In the streets of the most popular tourist destinations in Mexico (such as La Quinta Avenida in Playa del Carmen), tourists are offered to take photos with wild animal cubs (mainly felines but also monkeys and reptiles) in exchange for a few dollars. These animals often suffer in small cages, are sedated so that they do not attack people and are replaced by others as soon as they become too big and less "attractive". Although their owners argue that the money for the photos is used to feed these animals and for the conservation of their species, these animals are exploited exclusively for profit. This trade exists only because of paying tourists, so please avoid taking pictures with these animals.
More information about this topic.
Hunting
Species such as white-tailed deer, wild turkey, bighorn sheep, wild boar, white dove, Canadian duck, black-bellied whistling duck, red deer, guinea fowl and ostriches among others, are hunted for sport through the so-called Wildlife Management Units, which you can join for a payment. Mexico has more than 2,000 hunting farms, mainly in the north of the country.
Zoos
In Mexico there are several zoos and “road zoos” where animals live in very worrying conditions. Some hotels also keep wild animals in their facilities: this is the case of the Hotel Belair (Playa del Carmen), a resort that supposedly exhibits confiscated animals and where in summer 2013, a tiger attacked a 4-year-old boy leaving him seriously injured. According to the child´s father, the hotel did not want to take any responsibility and several of the animals of the center were in very bad conditions.
More information about animals in captivity here.
Biodiversity
Mexico is one of the 18 most mega-diverse countries in the world. With more than 200,000 different species, it is home to 10-12% of the world's biodiversity. It takes the first place in reptile biodiversity with 707 known species, the second place in terms of mammals with 438 species, fourth in amphibians with 290 species, and fourth in flora, with 26,000 different species. Mexico is also considered the second country in the world in terms of ecosystems and the fourth in species in general. Approximately 2,500 species are protected by Mexican legislation.
More information about observing animals.
Deforestation
In 2002, Mexico ranked second in terms of the world's fastest deforestation rate, second only to Brazil. Today, 170,000 square kilometers (65,637 square miles) are considered "Protected Natural Areas" in Mexico. These include 34 biosphere reserves (unaltered ecosystems), 67 national parks, 26 areas of protected flora and fauna, 4 areas for the protection of natural resources (soil conservation, watersheds and forests) and 17 sanctuaries (areas rich in various species).
Dolphinaria
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 dolphinaria and their stress levels and mortality rates are very high.
The training of these animals for circus shows where they perform totally unnatural behaviours, 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 these individuals are taken from the wild.
More information in sosdelfines.
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 Mexico:
APASDEM: Asociaciones Protectoras de Animales de México
