Thanks Lauren! Excited to have everyone onboard 🙂

No worries Lucy! I understand being passionate about something like this, especially when you’re speaking for someone who can’t speak for themselves <3

You’re so welcome Alina! Thanks for reading!

Hi Alex,

Thank you for your thoughfull comment, I very much appreciate that! Perhaps I came of a little too harsh, sorry for that. I find it very painfull to see people still supporting animal cruelty even after awareness and let’s just say sometimes my repsonses are (in the moment) passionate. Ofcourse I understand it is impossible to monitor the blogs and all their content so I agree with you on that. That’s why I was interested hearing in your view of this matter. Personally, I would still not support a blog if I was aware of content which contain animal cruelty or such but I do unsterstand your point of view!

Hoping you can join us for the newsletter, Maggie!

Thanks becky! You da bomb <3

Hey Lucy! Appreciate you sharing this concern, though I am slightly smarting from the accusation that I’m a sellout (ouch). In fact, I didn’t know about that particular instagram — while I always look through the blogs of those who request to advertise, I can’t possibly monitor every single post they make on social media or even on their blogs. And to be honest, I’m not sure I’d police them if I could. Obviously, I’m not going to allow elephantrides.com or animalcruelty.org to advertise with me, but if another blogger makes the personal choice to do something that I disagree with, I’m not sure I’d ban them from partnering with me for doing so — because where do you draw the line? I’d have to wrestle with that for a while.

When I talk to friends and fellow travelers in real life, I find the most effective method of sharing my ideas about something like elephant riding is a casual tone and a friendly sharing of information. (“Oh, you’re planning to go elephant riding? I did that my first trip to Southeast Asia as well. To be honest it was pretty uninspiring and I’ve actually learned a lot since about how cruel it is for the elephants. I’ve recently visited some non-riding sanctuaries and the experience was so much more rewarding. Can I write down the names for you?”) Most people don’t change their minds based on bullying or shaming. When I see others riding elephants or doing things I disagree with, it’s a reminder that I need to double down on my efforts to share all that I’ve been lucky enough to learn. So maybe that’s what this is — and again, I appreciate you bringing it to my attention.