For humane beings who love to travel, for those involved with shelters and rescues, and anyone interested in living in harmony with animals, the Humane Society International is offering four Humane Journeys that combine adventure with a chance to help animals.
The journeys, to Costa Rica, Bolivia, British Columbia and India, are organized for “low-impact” tourism practices and showcase leading-edge animal welfare and conservation programs, while offering comfortable lodging and immersive experiences.
They highlight innovative ways HSI is helping companion animals through programs highlighting the latest in veterinary training (Bolivia and Costa Rica), street dog management (India), humane education (Costa Rica, Bolivia and India), and ecosystem protection (British Columbia).
Trips will also offer opportunities for immersive experiences and meeting locals, going into local schools to help teach humane education, and wildlife watching.
In B.C.’s Great Bear Rainforest, for instance, participants will learn about HSI’s program to protect keystone species such as the grizzly bears (spotting from forest viewing platforms) as well as taking a river journey to see the salmon migration, a helicopter flight over the glaciers and a coastal boat trip to see whales, dolphins and bears.
In Costa Rica, travelers will take a wildlife-spotting expedition through the canals in and around Tortuguero National Park and also get to take a nighttime walk along the beach with a chance to witness sea turtle nesting. Visitors will also see a program to reduce predation on dogs and cats by jaguars.
In Bolivia, visitors will experience first-hand HSI’s veterinary training program, which brings together vets from across Latin America who are being taught the latest in cutting edge, high-quality spay/neuter programs and veterinary care for cats and dogs around the country’s capital of La Paz. Travelers will also participate in local humane education and learn how awareness about caring for animals is being raised across Latin America.
A trip to India will focus on groundbreaking work to help wildlife and street dogs, as well as a program on how to reduce human-elephant conflicts. Participants will also go by river and Jeep into Nagarahole Tiger Reserve (I’ve been, and the experience of a tiger in the wild and hearing it roar is one I will never forget).
Trips range from 5 to 9 days, and cost from $4,500 (Bolivia) to $13,000 (India) for a single; proceeds benefit HSI’s work. For more information, contact humanejourneys@humanesociety.org or go to humanesociety.org/humanejourneys.
