Visiting zoological gardens, although a less adventurous form of wildlife tourism, can be a rewarding experience especially if a human-animal interaction is possible without annoying the wild animals on display. Wildlife displayed in zoos have generally got used to people. To a certain extent, some zoos allow animal petting especially where animals have already got habituated towards humans.
Zoo management, however, ensures that animal-people interaction does not cause any adverse impact to either the animal or to the visitors. Under the Exhibited Animals Protection Regulation (1995), public safety in addition to standard procedures for construction of fences, cages and enclosures to ensure animal health, hygiene and nutrition are clearly specified as part of the licensing requirements.
The benefits from wildlife tourism can be both tangible and intangible. In
kerala travels to zoos and nature parks are a part and parcel of any tour package. It helps a short term visitor to get a feel of the exotic wildlife at short notice. The economic benefits from nature-based tourism, in general, are considerable. It creates more employment opportunities and supports a secondary commercial industry.
Wildlife hunting in the form of recreational fishing, recreational hunting and trophy hunting generates income from
• Admission permits
• Hunting/fishing fees
• Sales of hunting/fishing gears
• Hiring fees for boats and land vehicles
The non-consumptive wildlife tourism model also generated a significant sum of money from park fees, admission fees, leases, services, sales of materials, and other tourism-related entrepreneurs (Freese, 1996; 1998). Even though wildlife hunting is totally banned in Kerala, the government may allow it in the future due to the uncontrolled increase in the population of certain animals in the forest areas.
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