Travel companies are being warned of their connection to wildlife cruelty, following a new report from World Animal Protection that found Webjet is selling tickets to some of the worst captive wildlife venues in the world.
The animal welfare organisation’s report “Caught in a web of cruelty: how animals suffer for Webjet’s profits” compares the wildlife policies and offerings of the biggest online travel companies in Australia and found Webjet ranks as ‘the worst’.
In contrast, Intrepid, Booking.com and the Travel Corporation all scored perfect marks in the report for their public animal welfare policies and commitment to avoiding harmful wildlife experiences in their offerings.
Venues sold by Webjet allow tourists to take part in experiences such as watching dolphin shows at venues linked to the bloody “Cove” hunts, and taking selfies with endangered orangutans.
The research found that Webjet currently sells tickets to:
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31 captive dolphin or orca entertainment venues, with 19 of these linked to sourcing wild dolphins from the brutal Taiji dolphin hunts
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32 captive elephant entertainment venues that offer either riding, bathing, shows or feeding experiences
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59 captive monkey with 7 of these offering circus-style performances
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34 captive tiger entertainment venues, with 28 of these allowing selfies, feeding or shows.
Polling data commissioned by World Animal Protection in late 2024 found that 1 in 5 Aussies believe all direct animal encounters and wildlife shows are unacceptable.
Suzanne Milthorpe, Head of Campaigns at World Animal Protection Australia said: “It’s appalling that in 2025, travel companies that Aussies trust continue to profit from the suffering of dolphins, tigers, elephants and more. People love to see animals on their holiday, but wild animals don’t need to suffer in cruel venues for our entertainment.”
“Webjet don’t practice what they preach. In one of their web blogs, they state elephant riding is ’cruel at worst and ethically dubious at best’, but the irony is they sell tickets to venues that abuse elephants for riding experiences and circus-style shows.”
“In Australia recently we’ve seen Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary end koala cuddles, and Dreamworld end direct tiger interactions. It’s clear Webjet needs to respond to the changing landscape and modernise their offerings now.”
In 2023, Webjet partnered with Klook which means the platform now sells tickets to some of the worst venues in the world. World Animal 
Protection has directly assessed multiple venues sold by Webjet where animals showed obvious signs of mistreatment and disease.
The global animal welfare organisation is actioning a ‘stunt’ outside Webjet’s Melbourne Headquarters this morning, educating employees as they arrive to work about the company’s connection to wildlife cruelty. Around the world, the charity is demonstrating the reputational damage travel companies face by aligning with exploitative wildlife experiences, and most recently targeted GetYourGuide in the US.
Webjet has refused to meaningfully engage with World Animal Protection, so it is hoped the release of this report will finally move the company to end their partnership with Klook and adopt a comprehensive, publicly available animal welfare policy.
The animal welfare organisation is urging travel organisations to take responsibility for their role in encouraging tourists to partake in cruel wildlife activities. World Animal Protection encourages travel companies to connect with them in order to work together toward a future where tourism does not contribute to wildlife cruelty.
World Animal Protection has created a tool on their website that allows members of the public to write to Webjet with their concerns, to help keep the pressure on the travel giant.
