Animal Experience International (AEI) sets itself apart from competitors by focusing exclusively on animal-related volunteer experiences. This specialization allows the brand to offer a wide range of unique and immersive opportunities for animal lovers, students, professionals and adventure seekers.
AEI's Consent Based Tourism model is another differentiating factor that ensures all interactions are consensual from the communities hosting volunteers to the treatment of animals involved. This model promotes responsible tourism and ethical treatment of animals.
Additionally, AEI offers comprehensive support throughout the entire experience - from pre-departure training on cultural sensitivity and ethical travel to ongoing support during the trip.
Moreover, as a B Corp organization, AEI operates under high standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose which is not common among all competitors.
Lastly, AEI's small group trips led by a group leader provide an extra layer of comfort for those who may be hesitant about traveling alone or volunteering in foreign locations.
Veggies Abroad Podcast
Do you eat vegetables? Do you want to know more about consent based tourism? Do you want to know how to see if an animal centre is really ethical? You will want to listen to this podcast!
Small steps still deserve big celebrations
Sustainable and authentic change is rarely quick and easy. It is achieved through many small and often difficult steps. AEI aims to improve the lives of animals around the world and support the local communities of our partner organizations while empowering people to travel in an ethical and meaningful way. But truly, AEI's real goal is to not be needed. We want to live in a world where the conservation of species isn't just a consideration of people and countries, it's a top priority. We want animal welfare laws to be so strict and wide-reaching that no animals - wild or domestic, are exploited by people. But we realise we are not going to get there next year, or the year after. Real change takes time.
This means we celebrate the small accomplishments and get comfortable living in transitions, not in binary change. If we don't celebrate small achievements, we will never get to those big wins!
Our dog rescue and animal welfare partner in Nepal works with the local government to address the overpopulation and health needs of community dogs. The government solution had been to reduce their numbers through culling, which involved leaving poisoned food out, killing owned, domestic and feral dogs, and other animals indiscriminately. Instead, our partner now provides vaccinations and mass sterilization campaigns that have successfully controlled the dog population and improved their health. What do we want? No dogs to be hurt ever again, of course. However, we celebrate the small victory of having some communities in Nepal safe from culls, and the lives of many dogs saved. This small step - a community agreeing to follow evidence based scientific methods for canine population control, will hopefully lead us to a complete ban on culls and poisoning.
In Thailand, elephants are still exploited - a lot, by tourists. Elephants are wild animals, they have never been domesticated so for many reasons having them around humans is incredibly cruel. It is unforgivable that they are "broken" in crush cages as young elephants, that they literally break their backs when tourists ride them, and that male elephants' legs often become badly infected and sore when they are chained to keep tourists safe for pictures. What needs to happen eventually? All elephants should have no contact with humans and be completely left alone to live in large protected areas to keep them out of trouble and to keep humans from bothering them and getting hurt. But currently, this is not a possibility. While many protected areas exist in Thailand, there are many elephants who cannot be brought immediately to a wild area because they need veterinary care, psychological help and protection from poachers. This means there are still centres, our partners included, that offer elephants sanctuary and care. Volunteers are able to interact with some elephants in this way, helping to provide the elephants with environmental enrichment and supplemental food. Centres used to say that elephants could be ridden but the small victory was having no chains. Then all ethical centres banned people riding on elephants. Some centres allowed swimming with the elephants but after studies showed the harm and potential danger to both elephants and people, ethical centres also banned this practice. A small step towards elephants living in freedom, but a deeply important one. We celebrate that our partner in Thailand is taking steps towards the ultimate goal for these elephants - a life free and safe without human contact. Until then we will know how deeply privileged we are to have any consensual interaction with an elephant, especially one who is at a sanctuary to heal from a viscous and cruel chapter of their life.
Wherever the lives of people and wild animals intersect, problems are created that inevitably impact wildlife in a negative way. Wild spaces are being lost, polluted, divided and controlled by humans. It seems no place on earth is safe. Our partner in South Africa studies and protects sharks and marine habitats. When we visited this placement, Nora was able to take part in their study to determine if cage diving (when divers obverse the sharks from the safety of cages) opened sharks up to dangers because they recognized boats as helpful things that gave them chum. So far the study is finding that the sharks recognize boats with cages to be feeding boats and avoid other boats. It is probably true that highly intelligent whales can see hunting boats are different from recreational boats. But marine life still must contend with hazards such as boat propellers, fishing gear and trash. For example, in British Columbia, a Humpback whale was just hit by a ferry. It should not be the responsibility of wild animals to recognize human dangers and avoid them. The first step to helping these animals is have a less fragmented natural world for them. More spaces that aren't broken up by roads, mining, logging and development. More marine protected areas where massive ship traffic and fishing isn't allowed. It isn't about getting rid of all roads, it's not about getting orcas to sink all yachts (or maybe it is haha) - it's about seeing how we can share Earth. What small steps can we take now that can lead to a much different and a much better future.
Are we striving for perfection? Absolutely. But we know that won't come overnight, it will be a result of countless small and wide ranging changes. And they will be celebrated because each one brings us closer to the world we dream can exist - a world where humans and animals live in freedom and without cruelty.
The Human Beauty Podcast
Want to have an amazing animal experience.. internationally? Of course you do! On this short but sweet podcast Nora speaks more about accessibility, justice and of course animals in travel. Give it a listen and tell us what you think!
Consent Based Volunteering
Watch Nora talk with the Gap Year Association of Canada all about consent in travel. Consent in the local community hosts, consent in the animals we volunteer with and consent in our own bodies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P9f5-sLTDI&ab_channel=CanadianGapYearAssociation
Thailand is OPEN
Great news friends!! As of 1 May 2022, Thailand is dropping its hotel quarantine mandate. Fully vaccinated travellers can volunteer with us at our wildlife or elephant centre (or both) without having to spend any time in hotel quarantine! So, if you have been waiting to volunteer with orangutans, sun bears, elephants, otters, gibbons and horn bills- your wait it over!! Come on over to our website and apply! The application process is very simple. After you fill out a short survey you will be given our volunteer coordinator’s schedule. You get to choose a 30 minute time that works for you and then we will have a chat all about volunteering. You can ask any questions you have and we’ll tell you more about the program, making sure everyone's expectations are aligned.
As of May 1st, being fully vaccinated is the only requirement for people travelling to Thailand, and you will need to download a Thai Pass: Read More about the Thai Pass.
Elephants aren't your thing? Check out our other programs
No experience needed!
Remember, you don't need any experience to volunteer- there are vets and nurses already there! If you can sweep your floor, you can sweep a gibbon enclosure! If you can cut a watermelon, you can help make breakfast for a bear!
All our programs have been chosen because of their high standards of animal welfare, trust from the local community, investment in the local conservation professionals, safety and of course: authenticity in their benefit to the animals!
Covid-19 Policy Updates
We are very happy to announce all of our programs are open and accepting volunteers! Many countries are still requiring a negative Covid-19 test to enter the country, don’t worry we will work with you if that is the case.
All of our programs will be requiring full vaccinations and masks while volunteering with the animals and while on the program. Covid-19 is a virus that has spilled over from a wild animals and we have seen numerous cases of both domestic and wild animal infections from humans. To protect the health of the animals you are volunteering with and the communities you are living in- we ask that you respect all the new and developing rules and polices of our partners. Our commitment to you is that they will never be a surprise. Once we know something, you will know something as well as the rational behind it.
We are all in this together, we will continue to act like it!
If you have paid your deposit for a trip in 2020 or 2021 but could not go because of Covid-19, remember it still is waiting for you. Our deposits are non refundable but they are transferable. Normally we hold them for a year but of course, these circumstances were completely different. We will be holding deposits for another full year. All deposits from 2019, 2020 and 2021 will be held in trust for the client until 23 March 2023.
Please, do not hesitate to ask us any questions to get clarifications.
Take care friends!
Gap Year Interview
Are you thinking about a Gap Year- from school, from work, from life??
Well, this just in: LinkedIn now has a section so you can register your Gap Year. If you took a gap in your education or professional life and want to explain it- you can. If you don’t want to- that is okay, too. If you want to show off that you travelled, took part in volunteering, learned in the experiential classroom that is life or something else- you can do that!
Thinking now about gap years and perhaps the ethics behind them? Don’t panic! We do that for you! Here is us in conversation with Jazz from the Canadian Gap Year Association talking about all things ethics, consent and gappy! Canadian Gap Year Association x Animal Experience International.
Let us know what you think and if you want to talk more about your Gap Year!
Anyone Can Help Animals
We have a lot of people asking if only vets can volunteer. And we always say: *NO*, in fact most of our volunteers are not veterinary medical professionals and we like it that way. Why? Because there are so many ways to help animals! And by encouraging people from all walks of life to volunteer, we ensure that local professionals stay employed by good and trustworthy conservation programs. We aren't taking jobs from members of the community and this means the professionals that helped animals before we were there will continue to help them once we leave.
What kinds of volunteering could you possibly do with animals that isn't high level medical volunteering? Actually some of the most important volunteering opportunities are the things that take the pressure off vets, freeing up their time so that they can provide the more specialized care. Making enrichment for animals who are in temporary enclosures before they are released into the wild, socializing dogs who have been rescued from the street, making breakfasts for elephants in sanctuaries. All of these are things you can do right now - and if you do them you are helping these animals AND the team members who have been there throughout, and even before, this pandemic!
If you want to help animals the best way to help are the easy but time intensive tasks: cutting up mangoes for orphaned howler monkeys, sweeping out elephant paddocks, scrubbing (empty) bear pools, handing out dishes of kibbles to hungry dogs - YOU can do this and you should! Giving back while you go on vacation isn't just a nice thing to do for the animals, it can be life changing for you. Volunteering changes how you feel about yourself, the world and your place in it.
Travelers have a massive role to play in stopping the trafficking and exploitation of animals. We have been thinking a lot recently about imposter syndrome and how it can show up in conservation. Travelers, recreational adventurers, and volunteers can be just as big proponents for conservation as biologists. Travelers spend their whole lives learning (when they travel with their eyes open) and through this experiential education they can be witnesses to the very best and very worst of humanity. If you don’t have formal training in conservation, you may discount yourself and pass at the opportunity to be an advocate. But you don’t have to be an animal professional to recognize that animals in cages and on tethers aren’t happy. Oftentimes it’s the traveler who is limiting their own voice, not speaking up because of feeling like an “imposter”. People don’t think they know enough, or feel that it’s not for them to say anything – but violence is violence and we don’t need a degree to recognize it and speak up against it. In fact we need all the stakeholders to come together so that we can conserve our natural world!
We encourage every traveler this year to think about the voice they have and how they use it. You do not need to have a formal education to change the world, you just need to speak out about injustices you see and throw your support behind organizations that are doing positive things. There are no imposters – everyone has their lived experiences and we should speak up for what we believe in. Do you need to be a vet to help animals? No. Do you need to be a professor of animal behavior to help animals? No. Both of these professions WILL help animals but so will you if you are willing to volunteer, observe and share what you learn with the world.
Travel is once again within your reach – you will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, then we will help you with the rest! You can safely travel to Costa Rica or Guatemala starting this month, and to more countries in 2022 (Mongolia, Malawi, Costa Rica, Thailand...) – many of them with us leading the trip! We look forward to helping you plan your animal experiences as travel starts to open up again.
Ethics, Solar Panels, B Corp Love.
Why is paying to volunteer all about ethics and how does that relate to a solar company?
Everything you consume, at home and while traveling has a cost. The water from your tap costs money. The food in your breakfast bowl costs money. Your sweatpants and button up shirt- creating the perfect Zoom mullet combo costs money. Your computer costs money. The training you got when you first were hired at your job costs money. The supervision you have at work now (while sometimes annoying) costs money.
So, if we are paying for things when we are home, we *must* pay for things when we travel. Our kind intentions, cultural exchange, volunteer tasks and projects are all valuable in their own way- but they do not pay the bills. They do not offset the cost of what you consume- electricity and water in your host's house, materials and training to make sure you are safe while volunteering, potable water throughout your time away from home... we could go on.
If your volunteer materials, housing, transport, food, insurance, training, water and everything else are free for you, then someone else is paying for them. You are costing the community you came to be of service to. It's no longer a relationship of consent and mutual service and benefit- you bring financial insecurity. What you bring as a volunteer IS valuable but again, it does not pay those bills that *do* need to be paid, so just like at home where you pay for water, electricity, gas, clothing, transport, Wi-Fi, and everything else, you need to pay when you are away.
What on EARTH does this have to do with Solar?!
Well... just like there are ethical ways to travel, there are ethical ways to live at home. You put fair trade, shade grown, women owned, co-op coffee in your cup but have you thought about what goes in to your electricity? Have you thought about who is paying for your energy? Yes, you pay the monetary fee but what about the environmental fee? Does your energy come from gas, coal or hydro? What if it could come from a source that is environmentally friendly? What if it could come from a source that doesn't just care about the environment but also the community and the people who work for the company?
What if you could power your home through solar and that company was a B Corp? A company that was audited every three years to make sure they had the highest standards of company and worker welfare, environmental benefit, community outreach and more? Obviously this isn't just us waxing on poetic. These companies EXIST! We have B Corp buddies all over North America who are helping people divest from environmentally, worker and community unfriendly (or at best, neutral) companies and investing in real and true GOOD for the planet, good for the workers, good for the communities companies. One of them we want to highlight is of course, our besties over at ReVision Energy They helped us realise this reality and we want to shout our love from the rooftops. We aren't from Maine so we can't get be their clients but that doesn't mean our friends from Maine can't. If you want a better way to get your energy, head over to their page, check out their Sunsquatch and give them a call.
Your consumption will cost you money, make sure you put that money into the hands of people doing the *best* they can for you, the community and the environment.
Thanks for coming to our Ted Talk, we will take questions in the lobby.
