A message from Nora

A lot has changed in the last 5 days. I am getting more and more hopeful for humanity in some ways. Seeing yoga instructors doing free courses on line, meditation apps being given away for free and gym teachers going on Instagram once a day to help parents home school their kids... love and empathy are all around us. Things are hard right now but I am heartened by how many people have decided to use their skills and passions to remind us we are together and together we are much stronger.

Conversely, I'm so sad when I see people not taking this seriously, partying on beaches and not standing an appropriate distance away.  It's so easy to be good, to keep yourself and therefore your community and family members safe. All you need to do is wash your hands and stand apart. For animal people this is easy, the distance is a llama or a leatherback sea turtle. Imagine you are being followed by a llama or a leatherback and don’t let anyone come between your animal friend. For the macabre and those who need to hear the awful truth to remember how real this is: the distance of your sick family member is how far you should be standing from others.

Some people have decide to use this time to learn a new skill, start new projects or finish those projects that have collected dust for too long. But I do also want to remind people that rest is important. You are not on holiday, these are not normal circumstances and we don’t have a defined timeline. This isn’t a contest on who can be the most productive with this time. This is a time to not compare your life on social media- as we know comparison is the very thief of joy. This is a time to learn from yourself, what do you need to be healthy: mentally, physically and spiritually. Do you need to sleep more because the idea of a virus passing though all the countries of the world is hard to fathom and makes you very sad? Then sleep, rest, be good to yourself. Do you need to run or do push ups or do HIIT guided by someone on Youtube because the idea of being in isolation for months gives you nervous energy that you need to get out of your body? Then sweat it out and breath it out. Do you feel like you need to eat more comfort foods like chocolate, salad, pop tarts, Kraft Dinner or anything in between because your body is asking for comfort in a time of mass uncertainty and fire hoses of information? Then nourish your body and remember there should be no guilt in pleasure, let the soft animal of your body love what it loves ( Mary Oliver). Do you feel like you need to Zoom with friends more or you have zoomed so much this weekend that another video conference hangout makes you feel over drawn? Listen to what you need in the right now and make choices for you now. This is a marathon, not a sprint and every single day will be different.

There will be good days in which we celebrate together (apart) and there will be devastating days that we cry into our pillow and mourn deeply. What you need today may be different than what you needed yesterday and tomorrow- that is okay.

But, do remember this is the same with everyone around you, we are all going through this devastating time of grief and anxiety so while you are being kind to yourself, be kind to others. We will get annoyed with our housemates talking too loudly on the phone. We will glare at our partners when they leave their towels on the floor, even after we asked them not to. We will be angry that our kids thought unsupervised science experiences in the kitchen were a great idea. We will be overwhelmed and overdrawn at times and we will snap. That is okay because we are humans and humans are complex emotional creatures and we can say we are sorry. And just as we can apologise, we can accept apologies.

I am not sure how things will look in a month or a year from now but I know humanity will find a way to keep on surprising me with joy. I know in these times I will cry and I will laugh and I will experience everything in between. I will be as gentle as myself as possible and I hope you are as gentle with yourself, too.

When it is safe we will volunteer again, we will go out in great numbers and show how committed we are to these animals we love so much. We will help those community leaders that are still on the ground right now helping horses, dolphins, monkeys, pangolins, dogs, elephants, sea turtles and more. Until then, my dear friends, be kind and be safe and do remember that we are all in this together.

Love,

Nora

Covid-19 and international volunteering.

At Animal Experience International we always make the health and safety of our clients our priority. As we navigate the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation, we wanted to let you know your options, and assure you that we will be here to help you make important travel decisions.There have been many new changes put in place to keep people safe and to limit the spread of COVID-19. These changes affect international travel and therefore will have an impact on our AEI programs.

Many governments have issued a global travel advisory to avoid non-essential travel until further notice. In addition, many countries have put in place travel or border restrictions and other measures such as movement restrictions and quarantines. Airlines have cancelled flights. New restrictions may be imposed with little warning. This all means that your travel plans may be severely disrupted and you may be forced to remain outside of your country of origin longer than expected. It is difficult to predict what the next few months will look like, and when travel restrictions will be lifted.

We have been working with our partner organizations to ensure our clients can easily reschedule their AEI Experiences as needed. We do know that the animals in our programs will also be significantly impacted by the COVID-19 disruptions, and when travel restrictions are lifted, these animals will, more than ever require your assistance. Each situation will be different, so we encourage you to contact us so we can work on a plan for you and your particular AEI Experience. People traveling later in 2020, or in 2021 have time to monitor the changing situation and can make their decisions closer to their departure date.


Things you can do to stay informed:

• Monitor the World Health Organization's statements on COVID-19 and travel.

• For Canadians, visit your destination's Safety and Security, Entry/exit requirements and Health Sections at the Government of Canada's Travel Advisory website

• For US citizens, visit the Center for Disease Control's travel advisory page for updates on COVID-19.

• For British citizens, visit your government's Travel Advisory website for updates specific to the UK.

Please take a moment to review Animal Experience International's cancellation policy. Do keep in mind there is no rescheduling fee if you do want to postpone. These centres will need our help more than ever when it is safe again to travel. Volunteers have always been critical in the survival of community conservation and animal welfare programs and we are committed to their future. We will be offering discounts in the future to help more volunteers travel to these centres and we hope that you will remain as optimistic as we are. We encourage you to help spread the word and let friends and family know that the animals in our programs will require extra help once restrictions are lifted. We are not sure when travel will be possible but do know that we will continue to work with you to make sure, as always, that your trip is safe, ethical and authentically helps the animals.

In the meantime, our partners are in desperate need of funds, any donations will help the well being of local conservationists, their families and the whole community. Of course, donations will also help the animals and ecosystems we committed to protect. If you would like to know how to directly donate to these groups you can email Nora (nora@animalei.com). 

Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns that you might have.

Remember, we are all in this together. 

Sincerely,
Nora and Heather

Helping Animals During the Covid-19 Crisis.

During this time of uncertainty and fear, we want to highlight a few ways that we can help each other and the animals we care about, without putting anyone at risk. Sadly all of our centres around the world have temporarily stopped taking volunteers - so the ways we can help won't involve travel at this time. This is about all of us pooling our collective resources to help the animals we all love so much. 

Many of the conservation and domestic animal centres that we support have volunteer donations as their main source of income. The hands-on work of the volunteers means programs can run, that animals are being cared for, that conservation efforts can go forward. It also frees up the time of staff, scientists and veterinarians so that they can do specialized work such as providing medical support to the animals or working on conservation research. The volunteer fees help buy things like food and medication, fund the rescue and release of wildlife, fund spay and neuter programs and other essential work. In this completely unprecedented time with no volunteers at these centres (both now and for the foreseeable future) our partners are at a loss as to how to operate. Their work continues - there are locals on the ground who are leading these efforts and they have some contingency funds. But if we don't support them in this time of need the consequences will be disastrous. Animals in the care of the centres will NOT suffer, but debts will grow and conservation and welfare groups who go out to tag wildlife, protect sea turtle nests and vaccinate dogs will have to stop. This will harm conservation efforts now and into the future.  

Many of us are looking at the coming months with trepidation. But we want everyone to remember, we are all in this together and we can all help each other during these challenging times. Provide hope by making a donation to a centre where you have volunteered, or one where you are heading to in the future or dream to go one day. Every little bit will help. Any donation will remind our conservation and animal welfare partners around the world that they are not alone. 

Donations are needed for our elephants and wildlife rescue centre in Thailand; our sea turtle conservation group in Costa Rica, for European dolphin conservation, Guatemalan wildlife rescue, Spanish galgo efforts, Spanish horse rescue, Southern African wildlife rehabilitation, and all the other important programs that we and our amazing volunteers support. We are all hurting and we are all a little scared, so let's spread the love today and donate to these centres who even in this crisis are animal and conservation heroes. To donate directly through our website select "Pay Fee" and then select "Donate" letting us know which program you would like to support. Or contact us for more information.

Covid-19 and Travelling to Thailand

We have recently had some people postpone their trip to Thailand due to Covid-19 and fears of infection.

Let us say, this is a high stress time with misinformation swirling around quite a lot. We are really happy to be able to be able to talk more about Covid-19 because we believe with more information we all can make better decisions about travel. Remember all media can be divided up into three categories: what we know is true (science based fact), what we think is true (how we interpreted those facts) and then speculation/ opinion. When you are reading about Covid-19, travel and really anything at all, it’s important to be critical about the publication, the author, the bias and the ‘facts’. Its important to look for articles that states their sources and reference trusted sources. The World Health Organization: trusted. My Uncle Jimmy who posts an unreferenced photo of an unnamed market in an unnamed country: not trusted.

We have been watching this outbreak as well and have been in constant contact with our group in Thailand to see what things look like on the ground. Currently, the Covid-19 virus has been reported in Thailand, with a total of 40 people infected. 13 of those have been new infections in the last month. Currently, there are more people in the United State of America that have been infected with Covid-19 than in Thailand. Thailand, with it's high level of development, health care and massive emphasis on tourism is in a unique position that they have been able to keep travelers and residents protected from outbreaks. 

Thailand is Asia’s most prepared country in the event of an epidemic, as ranked by Johns Hopkins University, and sixth out of 165 countries globally. Thailand ranked second in having a robust health system capable of treating the sick and protecting healthcare workers. It was ranked third in the prevention of the emergence or release of pathogens.

Currently we follow the World Health Organization and the government of Canada travel advisories and both have not changed how they rank travel to Thailand. Neither of them have warned that travel to Thailand would be dangerous or put you at risk of Covid-19. We have no reason to believe that travel to Thailand would be dangerous at this time. If things change, of course we will alert our travellers and we will be able to change their trip. However, knowing how well prepared Thailand is and how well they have kept their people and travelers safe in past pandemics (SARS, H1N1, etc), we and global experts have no reason to believe our travelers will be at a higher risk of contracting Covid-19 if they travel to Thailand. 

It is also important to note that our wildlife and elephant centre is 2,464 km away from Wutan province, where the Covid-19 outbreak originated. This is the same distance from Toronto to the south of Cuba. Travel has been banned and restricted in China and between China and most other countries which is why we are seeing very few reports of Covid-19 in places outside of China.

We are cautiously optimistic that the vaccine that is being tested now will bring safety to even more people in the coming months. 

Is Covid-19 scary to read about? Yes it is. But so are other viruses and diseases that we have now become blind to: rabies, malaria, zika, etc. So before you cancel your trip because it seems like Covid-19 is dangerously everywhere, please contact us so we can discuss with you more details about it. Hand washing continues to be the best way to stop the spread of infection so no matter if you travel or not, please wash your hands.

We really recommend listening to the podcast: Science Vs. They do a science based breakdown of Covid-19 that could really help clear a lot of the misinformation. We really like this source because they have a huge number of citations that you can go through yourself. They have a new episode they released in March: Science Vs. Corona Virus Updated.

UPDATE: Here is the most recent statement from our partner in Thailand:

We are following news updates of the virus and advice of health professionals on how to best deal with the situation. 

There have been 19 confirmed cases of the virus in Thailand and 1000’s more around the world, mostly in China but also in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Australia, Canada, the USA, among others. There have currently been no fatalities outside China. The virus can only be fatal in humans with underlying health conditions, the elderly and the young.

Luckily, our centre is not within an area where we see a large number of Chinese tourists. However local beach resorts of both Cha am and Hua Hin are busy tourist destinations so we recommend avoiding visiting these places and if volunteers do visit these places they are advised to where a mask. Volunteers are also advised to avoid any unnecessary contact with other humans and regularly wash their hands.

We recommend that volunteers do not fly through Mainland China prior to coming to Thailand.

While at the airports, using public transport, or other heavily populated areas we recommend wearing a mask and avoiding any unnecessary contact with other humans.

We think the risk of coming into contact with the virus while at the centre is less that it would in any other country in the world who have already seen the virus. It is no different to attending school, work or visiting your local shopping mall.

We hope that world leaders and health authorities deal with the spread of the virus around the world fast and effectively.

Please let us know if you have any further questions

Volunteering in Australia.

We have three volunteer partners in Australia. Sea turtles in Cairns, flying foxes on the Atherton Tablelands and wildlife rehabilitation in Perth. We are in constant contact with all our partners around the world, getting updates on volunteers, the weather, new animals in treatment and fundraising campaigns they are rolling out. Our Australia partners have kept us up to date about these issues and of course the fires that we have all seen with tears in our eyes.

Our partners have been incredibly lucky and currently are not in immediate danger. Our volunteers on the ground are safe and the animals continue to get the very best of care.

Over the past week we have gotten an unprecedented 50 new applications a day from people who want to go to Australia immediately and help. Of course we did, who doesn’t want to help these amazing heroes who are on the front line of animal rescue? It has been wonderfully overwhelming to see how many people want to help these animals, how many people see these pictures and videos and instead of getting swallowed up by sadness are inspired to action.

Our message to everyone is thank you, thank you, thank you for your heart and for your compassion. This is a dire situation and it helps all of us to know we are not alone. In order to understand our commitment to Australia now and in the future we would ask everyone read the message we are sending those interested in volunteering in Australia.

Thank you so much for your application to volunteer with us in Australia.

We have been absolutely devastated by the wild fires in Australia and are very privileged to be able to send international volunteers to our wildlife rehab centre in Perth. Currently, the centre cannot accept anymore volunteers until August. 

Many wildlife centres are at capacity with volunteers at the moment and won't accept any who haven't had extensive experience with marsupials and burn victims. Hands on the ground are important but they have been telling me that donations for things like fruit, milk and medical supplies are needed urgently and of course through the whole recovery process.

Knowing how many animals have been affected and how much land has been completely destroyed, the road to recovery will be long and the volunteers coming to Australia later in the year will be as welcome as the ones arriving currently. 

We have two more programs in Australia, one with flying foxes up in the Atherton tablelands and one in Cairns with sea turtles. If you are interested in going to Australia to help animals, they are both wonderful groups who really do need volunteers throughout the year, including now. Australia’s economy will also benefit from your visit.

Let me also say, that wildlife around the world needs our help. There is no wrong answer when you help animals at wildlife rehab centres. Perhaps they have not been acutely affected by wildfires but many of the animals at our wildlife centres around the world do need immediate and on going help after their rescue from traffickers, loss of habitat and natural disasters in their area. If you want to help wildlife but can't get to Australia, there are animals who need your help in all our wildlife centres.

Thank you so much for your interest in helping. This is a dire and terrifying situation ecologically yet I have been inspired by the amount of people who want to help from all over the world. 

A note about fees: Unfortunately, we cannot help with the costs for volunteer fees or ticket. The fees exist to offset the cost of hosting volunteers- from electricity to water, training to materials, volunteers provide an important helping role at the centre but they can also cost the community. We make sure that struggling communities don't personally pay for what the volunteers consume and all the donations that raised for the centre are used directly to help the animals. 

This is one of the reasons we visit all the placements before we partner with them. Not only do we make sure they are safe for travelers, ethically run, community lead/supported and authentically helping the animals in the area; we make sure that the fees correctly and ethically reflect the cost of hosting volunteers. Everything from the petrol used to pick volunteers up from the airport to the training that each volunteer must receive is thought of because when it comes down to it, we know no one going to help these communities and these animals wants to be a burden- financial or otherwise. 

Just as we don't barter for medical supplies and rent at home, we don't in the places that host volunteers so, as you can understand fees are very important to pay your way and the things you consume while on the program. 

Thank you so much for your heart, your compassion and your readiness to help. We will all need to come together in the next months and years to help all the animals and people affected by this devastating climate disaster. We are committed to Australia’s wildlife and we hope you are, too.

Nora

A Discount for Your Donation!

It’s the time of year when our thoughts turn to giving – bringing happiness to others and spreading holiday cheer. We want to thank you for all the great things that you do and for all the lives that are touched by your kindness. Inspired by the tremendous generosity we saw on Giving Tuesday, we thought why not make every day in December a giving day? We would love to help you give the gift of travel to yourself in 2020!

Simply make a donation in December to ANY animal or environmental charity and Animal Experience International will thank you by giving you a discount on your fees! Share the love, spread the joy, help the world and make a difference for animals! In our busy lives, we can sometimes forget that the simple act of giving can have powerful effects. Our little ripple can lead to a tidal wave of change. And we want to help you, help important organizations around the world!

It's as simple as donating what you can to ANY conservation group you love, such as Latin American Sea Turtles, Nature Canada, Greenpeace, Lilongwe Wildlife Trust or your local animal shelter - then emailing us a copy of your receipt. We will then thank you by giving you 10% off your fees! 

Make 2020 your year of adventure. Continue to make the world a better place by traveling on an AEI adventure, meeting new friends and lending a hand to an amazing animal organization!

*Discount applies to new applications only, submitted to Animal Experience International on or before January 15, 2020. Financial donations to the charity of your choice must be made between December 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019.

Give travel to your friends, your family and yourself!

Last month we were mentioned in the New York Times article when Airbnb announced they would be helping people experience animals! Working with local animal programs you can go check out sea turtle programs or the day, have tea with ponies and visit with penguins. We LOVE this idea especially because World Animal Protection is behind them making sure all these experiences meet pretty high ethical and humane standards. No swimming with dolphins over here!

We also love this idea because it gives people the opportunity to dip their feet into the water of animal welfare and care so they can sign up for a longer experience with us later. Go visit animal welfare programs and wildlife rescue centres, see if you like them and then come volunteer with AEI! Why not?

Last month when I was in South Africa I tried an Airbnb experience to see how they operated and I was delighted! I went to the Cape of Good Hope with a woman that used to be a park ranger. She knew all the beautiful places to hike and was able to point out loads of animals I wouldn’t have even noticed!

Do yourself a favour, read the article, get better acquainted with animal adventures and then send us a message! Tis the season to give memories instead of things.

Give ethical and safe animal adventures to your friends, your family and yourself!

The Weather Outside is Frightful

The snow is falling, the air is cold and it's hard to remember that there are animals (IN VERY WARM PLACES) that need our help. Sea turtles in Costa Rica, wildlife in Malawi, dogs in Mexico.... all of them are being rescued by locally lead and run programs that could use a helping hand. We aren't looking for vets or doctors, we are looking for people to help and support local vets and doctors. We are looking for people like you who can go to the (WARM) plains of Southern Africa and help cut up fruit for baboons. We are looking for families like yours, who can walk on the (WARM) beaches of Costa Rica to replant mangrove trees. We are looking for people like you and your friends who want to help with the socialization and rehabilitation of rescue dogs in a (WARM) city in Mexico. Basically, we want to help you help animals and since we are Canadian too, we want to make sure you are warm doing it. Stay cozy, volunteer with animals this winter.

Tigers and crocodiles and baboons- need your help!

Around the world, we have seen a decline in people travelling. There are many reasons for it but understanding the complex reasons don’t help the teams who are working around the clock to help animals. What will help is your time. We have local vets on the ground who are doing everything they can to save wildlife from trafficking. They are rehabilitating sick, injured and orphaned animals, releasing them as quickly as possible to help support the ecosystems that these animals are important members of.

How do you fit in? You can help support the vets by volunteering to do husbandry! These animals need to be fed, cleaned and given enrichment and support every single day. You can do that! And by doing that, you take these tasks off the plate of the vets. They can give better medical care to the animals, care for more animals and in turn release more animals. Cutting up 4lbs of bananas may seem easy, and it is but its vital to the survival of orphaned howler monkeys. Sweeping leaves out of an enclosure may seem easy, and it is but it’s crucial for the rehabilitation of antelope. Stuffing seeds into pre-drilled sticks may seem easy, and it is but it’s deeply important for the psychological care of wild birds before they are released back into the jungle.

We don’t need vets. There are vets on the programs. We need people to support the vets. To take part in easy but incredibly important feeding, cleaning and enrichment tasks. The more volunteers helping with these tasks, the higher the quality of life is for these animals, the more time the vets can focus on medical care and the sooner the animals can go back to their homes in the forest.

If you can volunteer in 2019, we will give you $100 off your fees. We need your help to help those helping animals.

So please, apply today.