Aaron Gekoski: ‘I’m haunted by the wildlife abuse I’ve seen. The work has broken me and I’m suffering major burn-out.’
We have condemned more than half a million animals worldwide to an unbearable existence. If humans were to be subjected to this treatment, we would call it torture.
AARON GEKOSKI: ‘Forced into boxing gloves and resting a foot – honed over thousands of years of evolution to grasp tree branches – on ropes, the female orangutan stares into the distance, poignantly primed for performance. It’s an image that will forever evoke a sense of hopelessness; this is a fight she stands no chance of winning. As a photojournalist specialising in human-animal conflict, there are only so many cases of animal abuse one person can handle. I started investigating the wildlife tourism industry a couple of years ago.
This journey has taken me to more than a dozen countries across four continents, where I’ve been subjected to horrendous scenarios that are impossible to unsee. Sights that continuously haunt my thoughts; private zoos with animals who resemble prisoners of war; skin and bone bears forced to ride bikes at circuses; elephants so sick they could barely stand to carry tourists on their backs. And then there are the orangutans who are dressed up and made to fight each other…
Wildlife tourism is an industry worth reportedly more than $250 billion dollars per year. But these profits don’t come without significant costs… The animals we now love to ride, cuddle, gawk-at and take photos with have often been poached from the wild, and orphaned in the process. They then spend the rest of their lives locked up, starved of stimulation, being fed the wrong diets, or sometimes not being fed at all. Others are tethered to chains and reduced to photo props, or forced to perform in shows… They suffer from stress and depression in captivity…
Ultimately, we are responsible for their suffering. We demand close encounters with animals on the cheap, with social media creating an era of wildlife junkies. Yet our desire for that Instagram hit has condemned more than half a million animals worldwide to an unbearable existence… If humans were to be subjected to this treatment, we would call it torture… Sadly, it’s impossible to document the plight of all of them. The work has broken me and right now I’m suffering major burn out’. SOURCE…
RELATED VIDEO: