Title (en)
Virtual wildlife tourism: an ideal form of ecotourism?
Language
English
Description (en)
Wildlife populations are plummeting worldwide and captivity, of at least some, species is increasingly being challenged from an ethical perspective. When captivity serves human entertainment, poor treatment as well as unequal power-relationships are problematic. Particularly for wildlife ecotourism then, we ask: is the future virtual Taking a posthumanist approach, this conceptual manuscript considers whether presenting technologically created images to tourists can equitably foreground non-human rights, welfare, and agency. We highlight examples of tourism involving wildlife in virtual settings to explore possible advantages and disadvantages of this type of experience for human and non-human stakeholders. This enables us to explore how the virtual experience fits with the concept of ecotourism. The argument is made that the ideals of wildlife ecotourism can best, and perhaps only, be met virtually - but only if we use images of non-human animals who are represented with dignity and respect.
Keywords (en)
Animal Ethics; Conservation; Dingoes
DOI
10.1080/14724049.2023.2175835
Author of the digital object
Georgette Leah Burns  (Griffith University)
Judith Benz-Schwarzburg  (University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna)
Format
application/pdf
Size
5.0 MB
Licence Selected
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International
Type of publication
Article
Name of Publication (en)
Journal of Ecotourism
Pages or Volume
18
Volume
23
Number
3
From Page
260
To Page
276
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publication Date
2023