According to non-profit organisation World Animal Protection UK, around 550,000 wild animals are exploited by the entertainment industry across the globe.
Imprisoned in zoos and theme parks, many are mistreated and made to suffer horribly.
Fortunately, the UAE offers several exciting and ethical ways to enjoy the company of animals, and learn about them in the process.
Ranging from swimming with camels to hiking with horses and dog walking through the desert, the below activities are all designed to benefit animals and wildlife, and boost conservation efforts.
Swim with camels – The Arabian Desert Camel Riding Centre
Most of us love cooling off from the hot UAE sun with a dip in the sea, and camels are no different.
While forcing camels to continuously stand up and down with tourists on their backs can put untold pressure on their joints, swimming in the sea is something that they genuinely enjoy.
The Arabian Desert Camel Riding Centre offers swimming with camel experiences on the quiet and peaceful public beach of Umm Al Quwain.
Held two to three times a month, the sessions are only suitable for strong swimmers. Participants are invited to stride out with camels into the cool water, and swim alongside them as they stretch their legs and enjoy the refreshing water.
Renowned for being gentle and sensitive creatures, swimming with the characterful and friendly camels is a great bonding experience that you won’t forget in a hurry.
Breakfast and drinks are served on the beach afterwards, and you’re also free to mingle with the camels on the sand before they are taken back to their home.
While camel riding lessons are also offered by the school, the camels are extremely well cared for and only ethical riding techniques are used at all times.
Dive ethically – Chloe Blue Diving Club
Scuba diving is an incredible experience that lets you swim with hundreds of different fish and marine animals. However, if done irresponsibly, it can also cause damage to coral and the wider ecosystem.
So, it’s a relief to have a sustainable diving school like Chloe Blue Diving Club. Located in Jebel Ali, all its activities are intended to nurture the UAE’s incredible underwater world, and promote marine education.
If you already know how to dive, you can help the team collect harmful rubbish and waste from the bottom of the sea during the monthly marine debris collection dives that it hosts near La Mer beach in Dubai.
It also offers ocean awareness-focused kids camps, workshops in coral conservation, shark awareness courses, and many other environmentally friendly experiences that are designed to instill a new appreciation for the Arabian Gulf’s amazing marine life.
Monitor desert animals – Emirates Nature-WWF
Becoming a paid member of Emirates Nature-WWF’s Leaders of Change scheme gives you access to a whole array of once-in-a-lifetime wildlife experiences.
Letting you contribute to real-life data collection schemes and research projects, and do your bit to safeguard the UAE’s environmental treasures for generations to come, the field work events include everything from tracking wildlife in the mountains of Fujairah, to desert nature night walks where you can spot a desert fox if you’re lucky, and mangrove surveys, all under the guidance of professional conservationists.
Sure to open your eyes to the extraordinarily diverse wildlife of the UAE, you can expect to spot scorpions, lizards, bats, gazelles, and loads of other fascinating native creatures as you simultaneously put your free time to good use.
Hike with horses – Ride to Rescue
Ride to Rescue is a shelter for injured, old, and rescued horses. Founded and run by kind-hearted Greek-Palestinian resident Yasmin Sayyed, it relies entirely on contributions from the public and it often struggles to buy enough food to feed its 30+ horses and 100 rescue cats, and pay its rent and bills.
While most of the horses cannot be ridden anymore (one is severely disabled after being kept in a chicken coop for eight months by its previous owner), visitors are welcome to come and hike with the horses in return for a small contribution.
Set in the beautiful wild countryside of Ras Al Khaimah and surrounded by majestic mountain ranges, the hiking routes around the stables are absolutely stunning. Spending time walking alongside the horses is also good for the soul, and a great way of getting in your daily step count.
Eventually, Sayyed hopes to turn the shelter into an ecotourism horse resort. So make sure you keep an eye on their social media pages for more updates.
Protect turtle nests – the Saadiyat Island turtle patrol
There are several places in the UAE where you can see turtles in tanks or aquariums, but helping the many turtles that are still out there in the wild is so much more rewarding.
Saadiyat Island attracts dozens of nesting hawksbill turtles every year, and the UAE’s colder winter temperatures also cause many of the critically endangered species to fall sick and end up washed up on shore.
So, one group of local volunteers has taken it upon themselves to protect and preserve them.
While the rest of the city is sleeping, the members of the Saadiyat Island turtle patrol walk the beach every morning before sunrise. Organised throughout the year, they are trained in how to look for signs of nesting turtles and record them properly. They also call in any injured turtles to The National Aquarium Abu Dhabi and the Environmental Agency – Abu Dhabi so that they can be rehabilitated and eventually released back into the wild.
While the nesting turtles visit in the middle of the night and are consequently rarely spotted, the patrol sometimes needs to help the new hatchlings find their way to the sea.
Not only that, but Saadiyat’s rare humpback dolphins and many other exciting and unique coastal animals are spotted during the patrols, too.
With the beach spanning eight kilometres of white soft sand, each patrol participant is asked to cover roughly two kilometres per session, and they are always looking for new people to help out.
Go dog walking – the Stray Dogs Center
If you love dogs but don’t feel able to commit to adopting a four-legged housemate, the Stray Dogs Center in Umm Al Quwain offers an array of experiences that are perfect for you.
Located away from the city and encased by rolling desert dunes, the rescue shelter hosts regular weekend dog walks, ‘socialisation’ sessions where you are invited to play with the dogs and help them get used to human contact, and grooming sessions where you can treat them to a bit of TLC.
Home to over a thousand unwanted and neglected dogs, there are few more worthwhile ways of spending your free time than giving some love and attention to these adorable pups.
Kayak and clean-up – the Sustainable Community Abu Dhabi
The enormous mangrove forests of Abu Dhabi are littered with different species of bird, fish, crabs, and insects, and even exotic animals such as flamingos, dolphins, and dugongs.
However, litter is a problem in some areas of the mangroves, and so the Sustainable Community Abu Dhabi has decided to do something about it.
Formed just over two years ago and home to 1,700 members, the active group meets regularly for kayaking clean ups at Reem Park and everyone is welcome to come along and join in.
Kayaks can be rented from kiosks at the park, and every bit of litter that is collected is sorted and recycled.
While the act of clearing the water of waste and debris is immensely satisfying, the smooth movement of the kayaks causes little disturbance, and every trip out is also a great opportunity for wildlife watching.
