Instagram Has Banned These Photos To Protect Wildlife In Asia

Despite the knowledge that elephant rides are harmful for the elephants, many people still choose to ignore this fact and go on elephant riding trips when they visit Southeast Asia. However, in a bid to protect the animals, Instagram has moved to ban photos of elephant rides and other similarly-cruel practices.

Censoring exploitation

Instagram’s ban comes in the form of both banning offending photos and the use of hashtags. Whenever a user searches for a phrase such as #elephantride, #elephantselfie, #tigerselfie, #slothselfie and many more, they are instead shown a content advisory message. The message states that “Animal abuse and the sale of endangered animals or their parts are not allowed on Instagram. You are searching for a hashtag that may be associated with posts that encourage harmful behavior to animals or the environment.” Users are then offered the chance to “cancel”, “learn more” or to ignore the message and “show posts”.

Raising awareness of a growing issue

Thailand’s ethically-sound Elephant Nature Park

By taking the step to prevent users from looking at potentially abusive images and explaining their rationale, it’s raising awareness of the issue and may lead to a decline in the number of tourists engaging in such activities. Social media is a powerful tool. Attaching a negative stigma to and de-glamourising such pictures is bound to be an effective measure in the fight against cruelty, and hopefully tourists instead will turn to ethical ways to interact with animals.

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Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

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