Jacada Travel explains why and how it rewrites the rules of luxury wildlife tourism, replacing more than 40 animal attractions with ethical, conservation-driven adventures rooted in animal welfare, community benefit,
and ecosystem health

Jacada Travel has taken a bold stand in wildlife tourism, cutting over 40 animal experiences from its luxury portfolio in favor of ethical encounters that prioritize animal welfare, local communities, and ecosystems—all guided by the Five Essential Animal Freedoms. From tracking European bison in Romania to cycling alongside migrating zebras in Botswana, every experience is shaped by this global framework.

We spoke with Natalie Lyall-Grant, Jacada’s Head of Positive Impact, about leading a 15-person team to audit their offerings, partnering with World Animal Protection, and making tough decisions that are now redefining responsible wildlife travel.

Can you tell us about the Five Essential Freedoms for Animals and how you applied them to luxury travel experiences?

The five essential freedoms is a framework that has helped to inform policy around animal welfare in the UK, and also globally. The freedoms are:

1. Freedom from hunger and thirst
2. Freedom from discomfort
3. Freedom from pain, injury or disease
4. Freedom to express normal behavior
5. Freedom from fear and distress

This framework underpins our animal welfare principles, a set of guidelines by which we assess all of our actions and policies, and the lens through which we view our interactions with clients, colleagues and suppliers. As part of the implementation of this framework, we’ve trained our team so that they are able to identify potential animal welfare risks and set up a flag system which allows any member of the team to flag these risks.

Based on the five freedoms, ‘risks’ could be things like animals being forced to ‘perform’ for guests, animals being denied food so that they will willingly eat from guests’ hands, animals being handled by guests (which can cause fear and distress), and captivity-based attractions which keep animals in unnatural enclosures that are not appropriate for their species.

Our auditing and flagging process is ongoing, but so far we have used this to cut ties with suppliers who are unable or unwilling to make changes. 40 experiences have been removed from our portfolio already, and have been replaced with alternative offerings.

Moving away from the concept of animals in captivity, Jacada believes that the most rewarding animal experiences are those encounters that are authentic, where you have an opportunity to see wildlife in its natural habitat.

In a few words, what will Jacada Travel no longer promote concerning wildlife?

In our commitment to animal welfare, Jacada Travel will no longer offer experiences that involve physical interactions with wild animals or that use them for entertainment in the pursuit of commercial gain.

When it comes to wild animals in captivity, we will only partner with facilities that prioritize their welfare. Furthermore, we will only work with suppliers who adhere to our strict animal welfare standards for any domesticated animals used in tourism. We have a web page explaining what we mean by this in a bit more detail, and you can read it here.

Can you share the biggest misconception about conservation? 

There’s a lot of misinformation around what constitutes conservation floating around on the internet. Social media algorithms have tended to prioritize shocking videos over authentic experiences, more often showcasing tourists interacting with animals rather than viewing them from a respectful distance during a safari. Companies that offer these physical interactions sometimes use claims of conservation to legitimize exploitation. For this reason, it is not uncommon for clients to come to us with ideas of having physical contact with wildlife.

The truth is, that wild animals do not like to be touched by humans, and need to be trained to do so. We’ve seen numerous examples of this training including negative reinforcement that eventually ‘breaks’ the animal so that it can be tame around humans. This is not only cruel to the animal, but can also put guests at risk. It is never safe to touch a wild animal, no matter what kind of training it has gone through.

How do you aim to offer an alternative to the Jacada Travel clients?

We know that many of our clients love animals, which is why they are keen to include them on their tours, but they come to us for our expertise, and we are happy to be able to guide them in the right direction, highlighting the benefits of seeing animals in the wild, or supporting verified conservation projects, of which we have many that we can offer.

A real conservation project would follow all five freedoms for animals, and should be actively engaging in things like habitat protection and restoration, scientific research and monitoring, community involvement to promote coexistence and sustainable practices, advocacy for protective policies, and legislation to address threats like habitat loss and the illegal wildlife trade.

They should also be emphasizing collaboration with diverse stakeholders, including local communities, businesses and policymakers, to ensure long-term success and sustainability for both wildlife and human populations. Many of the properties and experiences within Jacada’s Positive Impact Collection focus on this kind of animal conservation, meaning that we have some fantastic choices on offer for guests who would like to participate in non-exploitative, impactful wildlife conservation.