Volunteering For a Wild Animal Sanctuary

Volunteering for a Wild Animal Sanctuary

By Susan Gerle

I’ve had the opportunity to visit some animal sanctuaries in my travels.  The most recent ones were an elephant sanctuary and a tiger sanctuary, both outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand.  Before the visits we took the time to find out how the animals were treated.  So many organizations are out there to make huge dollars from the tourists.  They really aren’t that concerned about the animals’ welfare as long as the CEO gets his money.  In some organizations very little of the money actually goes back into the coffers to pay the local caretakers and for the animals’ food and medicine.

So how do you find out which ones are good sanctuaries and whether the animals are treated well?  One of the easiest ways now, of course, is to research the places on the internet.  Sites, like Trip Advisor and Lonely Planet, will have travelers sharing their good or bad experiences.  Social media like facebook often have sites where you can read about people’s visits.  If you are already on the road and hostelling, there will often be some people who have visited the sites before you and can give you advice.