​​Tailor Made Safaris is proud of its animal friendly and sustainable policy. The owners are after all biologists and have always committed themselves to the environment and the welfare of animals, a policy they have continued at Tailor Made Safaris.

Predator Parks, Petting Zoos and Rehabilitation Centres

Our ethos for example does not allow us to book predator parks and venues where one can cuddle or walk with lions. If you would want to visit them, that is up to you of course, but we do not recommend it and will not be able to assist you with it. These attractions are especially popular in the northern provinces of South Africa. For example; in the vicinity of Johannesburg one can find the ‘Lion Park’ that is a popular tourist destination. This is really a glorified zoo and has nothing to do with watching animals in ​the wild. In these parks the lions cannot hunt and thus are fed, which causes them to display unnatural behaviour (like climbing on cars and such). They are also involved in selling animals to hunting reserves to be shot as trophies.  
Avoid predator parks!
Try to avoid these types of parks

Some exceptions...

We do not have any problems with real rehabilitation centres where they take care of wounded or confiscated animals. Their aim is to always place animals back in to the wild if possible. In this case, the animals can’t have any contact with humans.

However, even in real rehabilitation centres, there always are  individual animals that, for whatever reason, can’t return to the wild. For instance, if they have been kept as illegal pets before. These animals then serve educational purposes and you can take pictures with them and in some instances you may pet them. 

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​Tailor Made Safaris has made a small selection of venues that are ethically sound and that you can visit without a problem.

  • Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre near Kruger
  • Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre near Kruger
  • Emdoneni Rehabilitation Centre on the Elephant Coast
  • Elephant Interaction on the Elephant Coast
 
We personally visited the 4 venues above and tested them against our ethos:
  • The aim of the centre should be rehabilitation and not breeding.
  • If there are breeding programs at these places, they are not for human entertainment.
  • They must have an official track record of releasing rehabilitated animals into the wild, preferably national parks, sometimes private game reserves, but never hunting farms nor other venues where tourists can get to interact with them.

Elephant Interaction
​on the Elephant Coast

The Elephant Interaction is a slight exception: The elephants in question where taken in and raised by humans after their herd was culled in Zimbabwe. Years later they were reintroduced into the wild, but kept seeking human attention and contact, causing conflict and frustration as tourists tried to stay out of their way. The elephants however kept getting closer as they were seeking contact.

It was then decided to move them to Manyoni Private Game Reserve which was able to facilitate their needs. There, they are accompanied by elephant companions who follow them through the reserve. They still find their own food, but at set times will come to a certain location where they can interact with people. You can join the elephants and their caretakers there to learn about them in a responsible and animal friendly way. ​

Trophy Hunting

We can be short about this one. Tailor Made Safaris is not in any way associated with (trophy) hunting, will not book or facilitate any hunting during your tour with us.

Shark Cage Diving, Whale Watching and Swimming with Dolphins

Marine activities are becoming more popular every year. They can offer spectacular experiences. However, with those activities one should also tread carefully as many companies operate without permits and don't seem to care about sustainability or marine animals well being. Here is our selection of reputable and responsible operators, all individually tested by our team:
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  • Marine Dynamics Shark Cage Diving near Cape Town
  • Advantage Cruisers on the Elephant Coast
  • Dolphin Encountours in Ponta d'Ouro, Mozambique​
Theses operators do genuine research, have a qualified marine biologist on board, make use of facilitators who's sole job it is to ensure that tourists on board of their vessel do not harass the animal in any way, and have a give back policy where they donate a decent proportion of their proceeds to conservation projects.