Why We Do What We Do
At Animal Tracks, every tour, volunteer program, and community event exists for one core purpose: to help end the illegal wildlife trade and keep wild animals where they belong — in the wild.
The illegal wildlife trade is one of the greatest threats facing animals today. It fuels exploitation, habitat loss, and suffering, while placing both animals and people in danger. Too often, wild animals are removed from their natural environments and treated as commodities, entertainment, or pets — roles they were never meant to fill.
Education as Advocacy
We believe education is one of the most powerful tools for change.
Through guided tours, hands-on learning experiences, and volunteer engagement, we introduce visitors to the true nature of wild animals — not as pets or performers, but as complex, intelligent beings with extraordinary adaptations.
These animals possess remarkable “superpowers” that allow them to survive and thrive in the wild:
keen instincts, advanced social structures, specialized diets, and behaviors shaped over thousands of years. These traits make them essential to healthy ecosystems — and completely unsuitable for life in human homes.
Wild Animals Are Not Pets
Keeping exotic animals in private homes is not only harmful to the animals, it is dangerous for people. Wild animals retain their instincts no matter how young they are raised or how well-intentioned the owner may be. When removed from the wild, they suffer physically and psychologically, and often end up abandoned, confiscated, or exploited further.
By showing the reality behind the exotic pet trade, we help shift perceptions — from fascination to understanding, and from ownership to respect.
Creating Change Together
Animal Tracks is committed to inspiring compassion, responsibility, and action. Our rescued animals serve as ambassadors for their species, helping us tell a larger story: one where wildlife is protected, ecosystems are respected, and the illegal wildlife trade no longer has a place.
When you visit, volunteer, or support our work, you are joining a movement to keep the world wild — and to ensure that future generations experience animals where they belong: free, protected, and thriving in nature.