{"id":23309,"date":"2026-01-14T17:12:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T17:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/23309\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T17:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T17:12:16","slug":"booking-a-safari-this-year-how-to-make-sure-its-ethical-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/23309\/","title":{"rendered":"Booking a safari this year? How to make sure it\u2019s ethical \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the summer of 2025, images were shared of a scene in Tanzania\u2019s Serengeti National Park \u2013 a large group of jeeps and dozens of tourists standing outside taking pictures of \u2018The Great Migration\u2019 and blocking wildebeests\u2019 traditional crossing point. While jeep traffic jams have been widely reported in other parks, including Sri Lanka\u2019s Yala, known for its high density of leopards.<\/p>\n

Demand is growing rapidly in the safari sector, and now more than ever, attention is being brought to how wildlife experiences are handled by tour operators and holiday companies.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the migration up in East Africa, there was a real spotlight put on a couple of places,\u201d says Karl Langdon, conservation and regional director Africa, overseeing Virgin Limited Edition\u2019s safari properties. \u201cIt\u2019s crazy. You can get anything between 20 and 60 vehicles trying to get to a crossing to see these poor animals. Just crossing this river on their own is a hard thing, let alone trying to get around all these vehicles and everybody jostling for space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sustainability specialist from Explore Worldwide, Hannah Metheven, points out that \u201cit goes without saying that the wildlife population doesn\u2019t automatically rise in line with this demand \u2013 which in turn creates extra pressure on certain hotspots.<\/p>\n

\"Six<\/a>\"Dr<\/a>\"TheThe Kalahari desert (Alamy Stock Photo) <\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the key risks is overcrowding at sightings, which can result in vehicles getting too close and staying too long in order to achieve the \u2018perfect shot\u2019. This is exactly what happened last summer, when a video of crowds at the Serengeti went viral \u2013 with the welfare of animals clearly second to that of getting a perfect picture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting too close, making noise and feeding animals can disrupt natural behaviours and cause real physical and mental stress to wildlife, she adds. \u201cThese disruptions often go unnoticed but have lasting impacts, especially during key seasonal behaviours that are instinctive and vital to survival.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people simply don\u2019t realise the consequences their presence can have \u2013 or how quickly a \u2018once-in-a-lifetime\u2019 moment for a traveller can become a daily stressor for wildlife.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s one of the pressures, perhaps, that an African safari is, for many tourists, indeed a bucket-list holiday \u2013 and therefore it comes with an anxiety (and even expectation) to \u2018tick off\u2019 spotting what\u2019s known as the Big Five, i.e. lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo.<\/p>\n

South African Langdon, who has lived his \u201cwhole life in the bush\u201d says as a guide, \u201cYou need to get people interested and get that \u2018feeling\u2019 that you get in Africa and when you\u2019re in the bush, it is a feeling. It\u2019s certainly not a tick list, but it\u2019s an emotional attachment.<\/p>\n

\"AA leopard in Kenya <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about ticking off the big five, if that happens, wonderful. What\u2019s important, though, is that they get a connection, and if they get that connection, I can promise you that person will be returning to Africa.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, the biggest joy in the magic lies in everything from the plants to the butterflies to the flowers, all the way through to a majestic big bull elephant and you\u2019re just sitting in his company,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Safari goers must be a \u2018witness\u2019 only. \u201cWe adhere to very strict protocols, from how many vehicles in, when you can follow\u2026 if an animal\u2019s hunting, you switch off your vehicles, you turn the lights off. You really are there as an observer.\u201d<\/p>\n

He suggests staying for a minimum of three nights on safari, to alleviate the pressure to see as much as possible in a short space of time. \u201cThat\u2019s when you\u2019ve connected, you\u2019re not going to do that in a day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Safari companies and lodges can\u2019t work in isolation though.<\/p>\n

Justin Francis, co-founder and executive chair of Responsible Travel, points out: \u201cSafaris have enormous potential to create lasting positive impacts for conservation, endangered species, and local communities. But there are also businesses that have driven indigenous and local peoples off their land, exploited tribal cultures and disturbed wildlife behaviours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WalkingWalking safari <\/p>\n

It\u2019s key that local communities actually benefit from safari tourism. \u201cThe best will go beyond this ensuring local people are engaged in any decision-making. They might use community-owned lodges, lease land from indigenous landowners or train local people to take on managerial positions,\u201d says Francis.<\/p>\n

\u201cExploitation of Maasai and other Indigenous cultures is rife, and there needs to be a long-term partnership led by the local community to ensure a genuine, mutually beneficial cultural exchange takes place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Langdon adds: \u201cConservation is certainly not just about fauna and flora in the area. It\u2019s very much to do with local communities and the land that you\u2019re operating in. We work very, very closely with the local Maasai tribes. We haven\u2019t taken the land from the Maasai \u2013 we lease it. They, obviously, utilise this land with their cattle. We haven\u2019t stopped that either.\u201d<\/p>\n

While there are ethical ways that operators can involve local communities, be wary of visits to tribal villages, and what could be interpreted as voyeurism. For example, Langdon says, \u201ca community tour where you go around and look at people\u2019s homes and see what they eat. It\u2019s always bothered me\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"AnAn elephant on Ulusaba safari (adam slama) <\/p>\n

So how else do holidaymakers ensure what they\u2019re booking is ethical?<\/p>\n

Crucially, there\u2019s \u201cno way to guarantee\u201d any particular wildlife sightings on safari, warns Francis. \u201cIf a company is promising you\u2019ll see certain animals, I\u2019d be wary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Langdon agrees: \u201cYou cannot go to a place if they have guaranteed you a big five or a hunt or kill \u2013 that\u2019s a red flag. You\u2019re in these animals\u2019 spaces, and we are here to observe, not to manipulate and not to cause any chaos just for tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Animal interactions \u2013 including petting, riding or selfies \u2013 are a big no-no .<\/p>\n

Langdon says: \u201cUnfortunately, [some places] are breeding lions,\u00a0 just so that people can have a 10 or 15, minute interaction with a lion cub. Once the lion cub gets to a year old, you can\u2019t do anything other than release it back into a cage and never out into the wild.\u201d<\/p>\n

Francis suggests asking questions of the company you\u2019re considering \u2013 \u201cIs minimising disturbance to the wildlife you\u2019re watching a priority for them? Are they going to turn around when too many other tourists are crowded around a lion? Or are you going to end up in one of those jeeps jostling for space by the river?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA game drive at Mahali Mzuri, Kenya <\/p>\n

Look for companies that have clear guidelines on how to approach and watch wildlife responsibly. \u201cSome now offer electric vehicles which are quieter than the traditional safari jeep, causing less disturbance to the animals with the bonus of a lighter safari carbon footprint,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

And don\u2019t be afraid to ask questions. \u201cAsk whether a lodge runs on solar power, what percentage of their staff are from local communities, and how much of your money goes directly to conservation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thankfully, an ethical safari doesn\u2019t necessarily mean top tier prices. \u201cThere are amazing, little places that are around, that are family, run and small,\u201d says Langdon. \u201cI know many entry level camps, even down to a backpacker level, that practice the sustainability side.<\/p>\n

But look for established organisations. \u201cYou can easily get people who are there just for the money, but they\u2019re not going to last very long,\u201d he says. If somebody\u2019s been operating for \u201c10 years or longer\u201d,\u00a0 there\u2019s more chance they\u2019ll be operating ethically.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the summer of 2025, images were shared of a scene in Tanzania\u2019s Serengeti National Park \u2013 a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23310,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[3606,1294,14373,2713,152,266,14372,1010],"class_list":{"0":"post-23309","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tanzania","8":"tag-africa-travel","9":"tag-conservation","10":"tag-resonsible-tourism","11":"tag-safari","12":"tag-tanzania","13":"tag-travel","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-wildlife"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}