Bali: are the zoos and wildlife entertainment venues ethical?

No ethical ways to see wildlife in Bali and Lombok 

Although captivity can never meet the needs of wild animals, our assessors were shocked to discover that many of the venues fail to even meet their most basic ones. As a result, there are currently no ethical ways to witness wildlife in Bali and Lombok. 

• More than 1,300 captive wild animals are currently being used as exhibits and in activities 
• Elephant bathing and riding, wildlife selfies, swimming with dolphins in artificial pools, and touching turtles in small pens were among the cruellest interactions observed 
• No significant improvements were found in the recorded and observed welfare conditions for wildlife in entertainment since our 2018 'Wildlife Abusement Parks’ report 
• Misleading conservation claims by many venues were observed, even though captive entertainment and breeding in entertainment venues have no genuine conservation benefits 
• Global travel giants including GetYourGuide, Traveloka and Trip.com continue to sell low-welfare wildlife entertainment attractions.

What makes the current scenario of wildlife tourist attractions in Bali cruel? 

"What may be an island paradise for tourists is a captive hell for more than a thousand wild animals trapped in shockingly inadequate conditions across wildlife entertainment venues in Bali and Lombok.

"During our investigation we saw wild animals suffering for selfies and it’s driven by tourist demand and lack of ethical policies by travel companies.

"As a good rule of thumb – if you can ride, hug or have a selfie with a wild animal there is cruelty involved, so don’t do it."

Your choices make a difference 

While there are currently no ethical ways to observe wildlife in Bali and Lombok, you can still be a part of the solution.  

As a tourist, all you have to do is avoid cruel wildlife interactions and only choose travel companies with a clear and accessible animal welfare policy.  

By doing this, you can help drive down the demand for captive wildlife cruelty and help put an end to the needless suffering of wild animals in the name of tourism. 

Together, we can help keep wild animals in the wild – where they belong. 

Update: Indonesia takes world‑leading step to end cruel elephant rides

In December 2025, the Indonesian Province Conservation and Natural Resources Agency called for respect for elephants and for tourism attractions to shift away from elephant riding. The move has already triggered big changes at some of Bali's well‑known captive wildlife venues.

In early 2026, popular venue Bali Zoo announced an end to cruel elephant rides. And just days later, Mason Elephant Park halted elephant riding following two government warnings surrounding their previous refusal to shift away from elephant rides. 

This wonderful win for elephants comes after years of tireless advocacy, including the 10,000+ Indonesians, Australians and New Zealanders who signed our petition.