Motion 074

Wildlife-based tourism holds significant potential to contribute to conservation and sustainable development. However, poor welfare practices in tourism settings, as outlined in the WOAH Guidelines for Addressing Disease Risks in Wildlife Trade (2024), elevate risks of zoonotic spillovers by increasing stress and pathogen transmission in wildlife. Similarly, the IUCN and WOAH Guidelines for Disease Surveillance (2024) emphasize the importance of monitoring zoonotic risks through improved wildlife health management in tourism-dependent ecosystems. Practices such as inadequate captive conditions and intrusive wildlife watching lead to stress-induced immunosuppression in animals, thereby heightening risks of spillovers, as emphasized in studies by Mummah et al. (2020) and Warwick et al. (2023). Integrating biosecurity measures, as advocated in the WOAH Guidelines for Addressing Disease Risks in Wildlife Trade (2024), is critical to mitigating these threats.
By incorporating animal welfare into sustainable tourism practices, this motion bridges gaps in existing IUCN resolutions, ensuring that tourism not only contributes to economic development but also aligns with One Health principles. This approach promotes ethical treatment of animals, supports biodiversity conservation, and mitigates zoonotic risks. Furthermore, the Joint Risk Assessment Operational Tool (2020) highlights the need for cross-sectoral collaboration to address zoonotic risks at the human-animal interface through coordinated and evidence-based actions. This aligns with established frameworks, such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, CMS Resolutions, and the principles outlined in UNGA Resolution A/RES/77/178, which collectively promote biodiversity conservation through sustainable and integrative practices.
Moreover, the 'Nature Positive Tourism' framework, endorsed by the high-level ‘Nature Positive Tourism’ Partnership, made up of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) and the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, includes biodiversity as a core focus and animal welfare as an important consideration within sustainable tourism practices. This approach monitors, assesses, and reduces the negative impacts of tourism on nature and wildlife, supporting the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and reflecting the motion's objectives. Recognizing animals as integral to tourism delivery, the framework offers pathways for governments, operators, and stakeholders to adopt science-based monitoring, certification standards, and recovery strategies, emphasizing biodiversity conservation while including animal welfare as a supporting element. This motion builds on such initiatives to advance global tourism policies that safeguard biodiversity and promote welfare-conscious tourism.
This motion underscores the necessity of collaborative efforts among governments, NGOs, and the private sector to establish a tourism industry that respects and protects wild animals while advancing global conservation, sustainable development and human health objectives.