Hot Tips for Kind Trips 

As the weather heats up, folks are planning school field trips, youth group outings, and family getaways. Be a humane traveler: Don't let your vacation spoil things for animals. Pack these "travelers checks" away in your suitcase—but first, copy them onto fliers created by your KIND Club. Hand your "frequent fliers" out at school!

√ Air Bud?
If you're planning a family vacation, you'll need to plan for everyone in the family—including Scruffy and Spike. Before taking pets on a trip, check that your plane, train, and hotel will accept them. Also, consider how your pets will like (or not like!) being in strange situations and places. Talk to your vet. It might be better to leave your pets with a responsible relative, friend, or sitter.

√ Pass on the Pony Ride.
Donkeys and horses are used to take tourists on mini trips or "safaris." Very often, the animals are sick, old, pregnant, or hurt and shouldn't be pulling or carrying heavy loads. They're frequently worked too hard, with little food or rest in between.

√ Buyer Beware.
Souvenirs capture happy memories of faraway places. Before buying any trinket, though, consider where it came from. If it's made of coral or rare wood, that usually means people took precious resources out of animals' habitats. If it contains bones, fur, ivory, or shells, or if it's a preserved sea horse or starfish, then an animal was probably killed. "If it's already dead, why let it go to waste?" you ask. Well, as long as people keep purchasing these souvenirs, businesses will keep making more! They'll quit only if you quit buying.

√ Don't Be a Captive Audience.
Avoid circuses, restaurants, and other attractions featuring captive wildlife, such as trained monkeys, parrots, or dancing bears. Living this way is stressful and unnatural for any wild animal. Out of the public view, performing animals are usually kept in small cages and denied good food and veterinary care. Other activities in which animals are often mishandled and mistreated including bullfights, rodeos, and dolphin shows. Spend your tourist dollars in ways that respect, instead of neglect, animals' needs.