A wildlife charity is urging UK tourists to stop taking souvenir photographs with captive animals when they’re on holiday

Most holidaymakers will be familiar with the offer: the opportunity for a cheesy selfie with a stranger’s exotic animal, one you can’t help but gush over.

But in a new report, international wildlife charity Born Free say there is a high risk factor to the seemingly harmless act in tourist hotspots.

Born Free is calling for a boycott by ill-informed posers of the tempting souvenir photo trade that is outselling physical mementoes.

Hundreds of “Red Flag Tourist Reports”, shared by eyewitnesses to Born Free, recall uneasy encounters in Mexico, Morocco, Barbados and Thailand. The feature stories of “sedated”, “hostile” and “defenceless” animals, with fees charged by their “aggressive” owners. According to Born Free, the reports help to raise awareness of the most exploitative locations in holiday destinations.

The Selfish Selfies: The Exploitation of Captive Wild Animals for Souvenir Photos report, released today (June 1), warned travellers against engaging with animal photo props on their summer holidays and asked them to make a signed pledge against the tourist-centric industry.

Founder Virginia McKenna said: “No animal exists for our entertainment, to suffer for the sake of a souvenir photograph, to live a life blighted by cruelty for the instant click of a camera.“

From big cats to birds of prey, photo-prop animals are often dressed in costumes, sedated and chained amid stressful flashing cameras and loud crowds.

“Selfish selfie” opportunities with native and protected wildlife, such as the Bengal slow loris, pose a threat to the natural behaviours of captive animals, which are often victims of the illegal wildlife trade.

The report raised concerns that animal welfare issues, such as mutilation, manipulation and malnutrition. are being enabled at the expense of thousands of animals.

Incidents of attacks involving the public in close contact with captive wild animals are not uncommon. A huge potential public health and safety risk, and threats of zoonotic infections such as rabies to wild species, are associated with the use of living props in the photo industry. Wild animals are naturally unpredictable, and holidaymakers are advised to educate themselves to protect wildlife living in unnatural habitats.